Tying a Case Closed

Producer: Richard Strolis

Rich Strolis: “Cased caddis are an often-overlooked food source in many trout streams across the United States, especialy in the northeast. I grew up fishing the Westfield River in western Massachusetts and I learned quickly that I needed cased caddis in my fly arsenal if I want to be successful, as the river is littered with thousands of larger stick cased caddis and several other smaller varieties. Early season the case caddis is one of my primary patterns on my home waters of the Farmington, so I needed an effective tie with minimal materials.

The pattern in this video is actually the more elaborate version as it shows how to tie the fly with appendages. In all honesty, the appendages are more for the fisherman and not the fish as one version does not out produce the other. Adjust the size, color and shape and you can cover all the different types of case caddis you will encounter. The body of the fly is very durable and can be trimmed to any shape in a matter of seconds.”

Materials

Hook: TMC 5263 Size 2-10, 5262 Size 12-18
Bead: Copper or Black
Thread: UTC 140
Body: Medium Krystal Flash Chenille
Legs (optional): Barred Nymph Legs or Other Rubber Legs
Collar: Antron Dubbing

Rich Strolis started fishing at an early age in western Massachusetts. By the age of 11 he was introduced to fly fishing and fly tying and never looked back. Rich has been guiding for nine seasons now as well as professionally tying and selling some of his unique fly patterns, which have appeared in several fly fishing publications. To see more of Rich’s work visit his Web site at www.catching-shadows.com.