Category: Panfish Flies

Tying a CDC Balloon Caddis

  • Hook: #12-16 dry fly
  • Thread: Tan, or to match body
  • Body: Dubbing or yarn, color to match your caddis flies
  • Underwing: Natural CDC under 1.5 mm foam
  • Wing: Natural deer hair (or elk)
  • Head: Foam, folded back

I actually wasn't planning on making a video of this one, but Jim Vatter brought it to my attention and I couldn’t resist. The last fly we did was a Madame X variation and Jim made the comment that that fly looked like a cross between a Madam X and a Balloon Caddis. And I'd never heard of a Balloon Caddis. And I fish caddis dry flies all the time! So, I looked it up and discovered that it's a pretty cool pattern.

Now there are a lot of versions of it out there but it turns out the distinguishing feature is a big foam head up front. I'm doing this one with a bit of a foam underwing as well. I think that part's up to you if you want to do that or not, but I want this thing to be more like a Neversink Caddis so a bit more foam couldn’t hurt. Check out the video below and let us know in the comments if you've ever tied or fished this one.

Tying an Orange Belly MICRO Woolly Bugger


This is a simple version of the classic Woolly Bugger, but tied as a “micro” for fishing with light tackle in smaller waters.

  • Hook: #8-12 3x long
  • Weight: 0.020" lead free
  • Thread: To match belly color
  • Tail: Mini Marabou, with 2-4 strands of flash
  • Rib: Fine wire
  • Belly: Chenille or yarn
  • Body: Peacock herl
  • Hackle: Any color

There's really no history on this pattern. I didn't find it in any book. Of course I didn't create it either-- I'm just calling it exactly what it is, an orange belly micro bugger. And I call it a micro woolly bugger because I usually tie these pretty small to fish with a 2- or 3-weight rod, sometimes even a 1-weight.

But what's cool about these little small streamers is that you can fish them as a streamer or as a big nymph. A lot of times I will fish this pattern by dead drifting it through a fast run or riffle and then at the tail of that run, just strip it like a regular streamer. And it'll catch fish in the fast or the slow water.

So this is a fun and easy pattern. No exotic materials and the color combinations are pretty much endless. So if you don't routinely tie and fish something like this, I would encourage you to give it a try. It's so simple and easy and this pattern simply catches a lot of fish.

Tying Moon’s Madam X


This version of the classic Madam X was created by Brandon Moon of Moonlit Fly Fishing. This one may be a bit easier to tie and will certainly be a bit more buoyant.

  • Hook: #10-12 dry fly or terrestrial
  • Thread: Body color
  • Tail: Natural deer hair
  • Head: 1-2 mm foam (color to match body)
  • Wing: Natural deer hair
  • Legs: Rubber
  • Thorax: Any fuzzy dubbing

I recently did something that I haven’t done in years, and that is buy flies. Let me tell you why I did this. One of the newsletters I subscribe to comes from Moonlit Fly Fishing. This is one of the newsletters I get that I actually read. Brandon Moon runs that shop and he sends it out about every week or so.

And in his last one, I noticed that he had a sale on some flies. So I clicked on it, went to their website, and checked them out. And he’s selling some really cool patterns. And the fly that really caught my attention was a Madame X, or a variation he calls it the Madam X Foam Striker.

If you've ever tied the original Madam X, which is a very popular and successful fly, it's not the easiest pattern as it's got deer hair for the head, which is then folded over becoming the wing. So, it can be a little bit challenging to get that just right. But Brandon's version uses foam for a head and the top part of the wing. And I think this one is probably a little bit easier to tie than the original Madame X and might even be more effective for me as I typically fish this fly as an attractor pattern, or maybe as a hopper.