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Triplef

CDC - My Love / Hate Relationship

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When I was tying years ago I never ever heard of CDC. But since I quit tying I discovered just what a great feather it is! I love dry fly fishing and these things float so well!

 

But I'm having a tough time learning to use this feather. Making a CDC body is okay . . . I could probably trim it a little tighter but it looks fairly okay to me . . . what do you all think?

 

But the wing/hackle just seems way to sparse and I'm having trouble making it look like Davie's or Tim's or any of the other YouTube tiers I watch.

 

I would appreciate any criticisms or suggestions. This is probably my 20th attempt on a #16! Pretty pathetic I think!post-55558-0-35554900-1466695925_thumb.jpg

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Not all CDC feathers are created equal. I would guess it's the type of CDC feather you are trying to use for a wing, which is different than what you would use for movement, legs or bodies in a fly pattern.

Read this page and be sure to pay attention to the types of CDC feathers.

http://globalflyfisher.com/tie-better/tying-with-cdc

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For the wing, you need oiler puffs. They make it really easy.

 

The referenced article on Globalflyfisher is a good primer on CDC.

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Not sure exactly what pattern you are trying to tie.

 

Reagrdless, the tail fibers look too long to me. they should be about as long as the hook shank = fly body.

 

Body needs to be a bit more tapered and not.

 

thread head is a bit bulky. Try to make it smaller with fewer wraps.

 

Wing is a mess with fibers of different lengths. I suggest using a type 2 CDC feather or type 3 CDC oil puffers that you can stack together before tie in.

 

CDC-Feather-Type-2.jpg

 

CDC-Feather-Type-3.jpg

 

Try have even tips so the wing will have a consistent length when tied back like the fly below.

 

quill-olive-cdc-f-fly.jpg

 

 

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Thanks for the comments!!! I'll read and then work on improvements. And yes . . . I'll post a picture! Thanks again!

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As Silvercreek suggests you can use 2 CDC feathers of similar size and shape. Most CDC feathers have a curve to them from bottom to top. If you want a narrow wing (as viewed from the front of the fly), tie the two feathers with the curves pointed toward each other; the two feathers will be pressed against each other when you tie them in. If you prefer to have the wings flair away from each other, tie them in so that the feathers curve away from each other. It's your preference on how you want the fly to look. I prefer a narrow wing so I use the first approach.

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Okay . . . learning more about the type of CDC feathers really help but I still have a way to go!

  • Tail is better . . . doesn't show up too well here.
  • Head is better I hope.
  • Wing is improving. I started to cut it some but have held off. I had some "puffs" that I used here. (Hook size #16)
  • Body taper is better

post-55558-0-05803100-1466787536_thumb.jpg

 

Sorry but my picture quality isn't very good. Glad I'm not a professional tier! If I was I would probably have to charge $10 for this fly . . . and I would still lose money!!

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Looking much better. I would thin down the abdomen at the tail to almost half of what you have there and taper it to the size of the thorax that you now have.

I think that your wing will float and fish just fine as is. If you care to, you can trim the wing to a more "wing" shape by gathering up the CDC between your thumb and forefinger to the length you want and either pinch or trim with scissors that amount of CDC that is sticking above your fingers. Again I say that your fly as it is now is just fine for fishing purposes.

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When I'm tying a CDC and Elk body, I tie the feather in by the tip and twist it before wrapping. It give me a tapered segmented body and makes it easier to trim the fiddly bits that tend to stick out. I do the same thing when tying a mayfly body.

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Maybe learning to use CDC is sort of like when I was learning to tie a parachute! Took me forever to may any that looked respectable . . . and now I'm re-learning them all over again! But at least this time I kind of know what I SHOULD be doing!

 

This re-learning everything is hard but fun!

 

Thank you all for your help and suggestions. I'll continue to work on using CDC. I think it is a fantastic feather!

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