CDC

[michaelt 0]

I am new to fly tying and see many mentions of CDC and in my ignorance cannot figure this out. Type of fly, material?

 

[throwinflys 0]

its a feather that comes from around the oil glands of a duck. it has alot of uses and i'm sure people are finding more everyday. here is just about everything you need to know http://globalflyfisher.com/tiebetter/tying-with-cdc/

[utyer 0]

The term is from the French, for Cul Du Canard. The feathers are from around the preen gland of a duck. The preen gland secretes an oil that the ducks use to preen their feathers and help keep them water resistant.

 

I have so far been able to live with out them. I have plenty, but I find that they look good at first, but get soaked up pretty quickly, and need to be dried out. While there are special products you can get to help with drying, I would just as soon tie with deer hair or other less fussy materials.

[shoebop 0]

The term is from the French, for Cul Du Canard. The feathers are from around the preen gland of a duck. The preen gland secretes an oil that the ducks use to preen their feathers and help keep them water resistant.

 

I have so far been able to live with out them. I have plenty, but I find that they look good at first, but get soaked up pretty quickly, and need to be dried out. While there are special products you can get to help with drying, I would just as soon tie with deer hair or other less fussy materials.

For my part, I have to say "amen" to that. I have tied a good number of CDC flies and probably will continue to use it until my supply runs out anyway. I hear all the high praise for the stuff but I just don't get it. Now before I get too much hate mail, let me say I am hardly the person to pretend I know all there is to know about this material. But in my experience, it just doesn't perform as advertised. I like the way it looks in my patterns and I wonder if that isn't its reals purpose...to catch fishermen. Oh Boy...I'm afraid I've stirred up a hornet's nest here. Look out! (running away)

[tidewaterfly 0]

I don't tie with it, have little need since I rarely tie trout flies. But interestingly enough, I once read that the dyeing process removes the natural oils, so it has to be replaced after the dyeing to get the advantage of the natural oils. Seems to me to be wasted effort when there are other materials, as Utyer has mentioned that work as well or better.

 

Same with the hair from Snowshoe rabbits feet. If you have to add the oil after dyeing, then adding it to domestic rabbit feet would in effect be the same thing IMO.

 

Shoebop, do you really think someone would intentionally try to lure us with tales of such wonderous materials, simply to sell a product!

[Wavey1988 0]

Talking of Snowshoe. I've read on another forum that hair from an ordinary Hare, will float just as well as snow show Hare. Not sure how true that is, though, until I see it first hand.

[shoebop 0]

Shoebop, do you really think someone would intentionally try to lure us with tales of such wondrous materials, simply to sell a product!

 

I know!

[switch10 0]

I use cdc on occasion. Pretty expensive for feathers that come off a ducks butt though if you ask me. It's best to just shoot your own.

[whatfly 0]

Very useful stuff albeit as some have pointed out, it can be somewhat fussy. Where the material shines is in wets/nymphs (sic.), or smallish dries for technical waters. The latter does take a bit of dressing and redressing, but there is no other material out there that behaves quite the same way. If bought in bulk from the better vendors (i.e. trouthunt.com) CDC is perfectly reasonable. Check out Shane Stalcup's or Leon Links books on CDC. For some reason this thread seems to have caught the attention of mostly detractors, but that should not dissuade you from giving it a try.

[tctrout 0]

I am new to fly tying and see many mentions of CDC and in my ignorance cannot figure this out. Type of fly, material?

Awesome material that is useful for all types of flies. Here's an example of a pupa in which the cdc is fished under the water. It's also useful to coat this fly with a silica to help capture air bubbles as this fly is underwater:

 

 

 

Tim

[Wavey1988 0]

I have flies I use (I didn't tie them) that use CDC. To me it's most useful when I want a fly to sink really, really slowly, rather than one that floats.

[flytyinfreak 0]

hehehe he said ass feather! Its literally my sedond favorite feather, marabou being first.

[flytyinfreak 0]

I am new to fly tying and see many mentions of CDC and in my ignorance cannot figure this out. Type of fly, material?

Awesome material that is useful for all types of flies. Here's an example of a pupa in which the cdc is fished under the water. It's also useful to coat this fly with a silica to help capture air bubbles as this fly is underwater:

 

 

 

Tim

Coating cdc with ANY goo is pure sacriledge! The whole structure of cdc is the very thing that traps the air bubbles, using any sybstance other than powder to dry the fly ruins the efect of the cdc

[tctrout 0]

I am new to fly tying and see many mentions of CDC and in my ignorance cannot figure this out. Type of fly, material?

Awesome material that is useful for all types of flies. Here's an example of a pupa in which the cdc is fished under the water. It's also useful to coat this fly with a silica to help capture air bubbles as this fly is underwater:

 

 

 

Tim

Coating cdc with ANY goo is pure sacriledge! The whole structure of cdc is the very thing that traps the air bubbles, using any sybstance other than powder to dry the fly ruins the efect of the cdc

Flytyinfreak,

 

I'm going to have to completely disagree...respectfully, of course. Applying "goo" versus a material such as Frog's Fanny is completely different, and I am discussing the latter (hence by my use of the word "silica"). The application of this material allows for an incredible amount of air bubbles to be latched onto the fly, thus creating an effect that the fly is emerging (exactly the same as a natural caddis). Does this ruin the effect of the cdc? Possibly. The cdc is intended to be a leg material and, being that the fly is submerged, this impact you are criticizing makes little sense.

 

Applying "goo" is definitely not a desirable method with cdc, though there is one flotant that is "goo-like" and still works on cdc: Tiemco's Magic Dry Fly Flotant. I will apply that to a cdc when fishing a dry fly, but still prefer the powder both when submerging and fishing dry.

 

Hope this makes sense...

 

TC