How to Tie the Goddard Caddis . . . with FIRE

As Cheech from Fly Fish Food says, “Sometimes, you gotta get fancy.” And this pattern features some wild and weird techniques and materials that John Goddard, the pattern’s namesake, never even considered. The first time your eyebrows might be raised is when, instead of spinning the hair around the hook shank, Cheech instead uses a dubbing noodle to achieve a similar effect. Then comes the fire, which he uses to shape the body and give it a cool burnt look. As you’ll see, he’s got more tricks up his sleeve after that, so if you follow along, you’ll increase your tying knowledge and skill. The result is a killer caddisfly imitation that floats like a cork, so it performs well in rough water.

Goddard Caddis
Hook: Standard dry/nymph hook (here a Tiemco 9300), size 12.
Thread #1: Brown SemperFli Nano Silk Ultra Fine, 6/0 or 100-denier.
Adhesive #1: Superglue.
Body: Caribou hair, in a dubbling loop.
Adhesive #2: Fly Tyer’s Z-Ment.
Thread #2: Purple SemperFli Nano Silk Ultra Fine, 18/0 or 30-denier.
Antennae: Nutria guard hairs.
Hackle: Bronze or brown cape hackle.
Hot spot: Purple tying thread.
Tools: Material clamp, dubbing whirl, tweezers, razor blade, cauterizing tool.