SpokaneDude 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2018 I have tried the Reel Wings Sedge Small, but I really have a hard time with fat fingers getting the wing positioned, cutting the V in the tab only made things worse. So I thought would look for realistic alternatives. Came across River Road Creations, and J Son Caddis wing burners which seem to be a viable alternative. I might be missing something here, but it seems the River Road product only cuts foam material... I have NEVER heard of, or seen foam wings on a caddis fly... am I missing something? Any suggestions or recommendations? I want to make the flies as realistic as possible with regard to the wings. SD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2018 but it seems the River Road product only cuts foam material thats incorrect read the river road creations website http://riverroadcreations.com/products.htm and http://riverroadcreations.com/caddiswing.htm and http://riverroadcreations.com/WingMaterials2.htm look under the "materials" section and youll see materials other than foam that can be used for wings river road creations cutters are solely not just for cutting foam furthermore, you dont need river road creations cutters to make caddis wings. its really not that hard to use a synthetic wing material, fold it in half, make a couple of angle snips and you have caddis wings get a template for caddis wings lay it on some synthetic wing material and trace the wing onto it. cut out wing Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave G. 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2018 I have tried the Reel Wings Sedge Small, but I really have a hard time with fat fingers getting the wing positioned, cutting the V in the tab only made things worse. So I thought would look for realistic alternatives. Came across River Road Creations, and J Son Caddis wing burners which seem to be a viable alternative. I might be missing something here, but it seems the River Road product only cuts foam material... I have NEVER heard of, or seen foam wings on a caddis fly... am I missing something? Any suggestions or recommendations? I want to make the flies as realistic as possible with regard to the wings. SD I've tied foam delta wings on caddis but I just cut the foam with scissors. I can only tell you that they will float forever but you can see an elk hair caddis much better on the water. I guess it might help if you used pink foam lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpokaneDude 0 Report post Posted May 18, 2018 Anybody have a pair of Life Cycle Caddis Wings they want to part with ($)... Wapsi no longer makes them... SD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted May 18, 2018 do you really need super realistic caddis wings? really? try making simple taped wings Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpokaneDude 0 Report post Posted May 18, 2018 flytire: interesting... I'll have to give it a try... thank you for the info... SD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FishnPhil 0 Report post Posted May 28, 2018 If these are the same then check Montana Fly Company makes them. I have attached pics of the cutter as well as an unsinkable, extremely fast to tie, caddis that has worked for me I like them a lot. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planettrout 0 Report post Posted May 28, 2018 Safet Nikocevic, who ties his Caddis patterns at the Steinway factory where he works in Queens, NY, has some interesting Caddis wings using organza and feathers. My son has used some of Safet's flies on the Upper Delaware and really likes them. He gets them at The Urban Angler in NYC... I also use the web wing that flytire pictures above for John Barr's Web Wing Caddis: ...and here is an interesting pattern I use here in the Eastern Sierra called the Scuba Caddis that uses medallion sheeting. There is an included SBS for this pattern: http://stevenojai.tripod.com/scubacad.htm I have the Life Cycle templates and most frequently use them with medallion sheeting and Shane Stalcup patterns... PT/TB Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
retrocarp 0 Report post Posted May 29, 2018 do you really need super realistic caddis wings? really? try making simple taped wings I like this method Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpokaneDude 0 Report post Posted May 29, 2018 PlanetTrout: Wapsi doesn't make the Life Cycle Templates anymore... BUMMER! I have a saved search in eBay for any that come up available! retrocarp: yes, it's a personal twitch of mine... I try to make my flies as realistic as possible, even going as far as using the original pattern for such as the Adams... Thanks again everybody for your comments... lots of "food for thought"..., :-} SD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted May 29, 2018 i just bought a set of Life Cycle Templates from bob mariotts store online wapsi, hareline and others are basically wholesalers and dont make many fly tying materials. they just license products from the manufacturer and put there name on it we sure would like to see some of the flies youve been tying with all of the info weve been giving you' Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpokaneDude 0 Report post Posted May 29, 2018 flytire: I'll see what I can do about showing some of my flies; I only have my iPhone, so let me give it a try... As for Bob Marriott's, for personal reasons I don't purchase from them anymore, choosing to use Pacific Fly Fishers instead... UPDATE: a quick search shows that Bob Marriott's is the ONLY place that I can find the templates, so I guess I'll have to swallow my pride and purchase it from them... oh, well, that's life! :-} SD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpokaneDude 0 Report post Posted May 29, 2018 Here are some of the flies I have tied; they are not necessarily "pretty" but I'm sure they will catch fish... https://pasteboard.co/HnsbNLi.jpg https://pasteboard.co/HnsgReI.jpg https://pasteboard.co/Hnsh5ed.jpg https://pasteboard.co/Hnsjvsi.jpg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chugbug27 0 Report post Posted May 29, 2018 nice fishy caddises. it's nice to throw a dry that can sink and still catch fish; bet these would do that Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheCream 0 Report post Posted May 31, 2018 but it seems the River Road product only cuts foam material thats incorrect read the river road creations website http://riverroadcreations.com/products.htm and http://riverroadcreations.com/caddiswing.htm and http://riverroadcreations.com/WingMaterials2.htm look under the "materials" section and youll see materials other than foam that can be used for wings river road creations cutters are solely not just for cutting foam furthermore, you dont need river road creations cutters to make caddis wings. its really not that hard to use a synthetic wing material, fold it in half, make a couple of angle snips and you have caddis wings get a template for caddis wings lay it on some synthetic wing material and trace the wing onto it. cut out wing I can speak from experience (not from Google). The River Road cutters will cut wing material, but they do not cut it well in my experience. I bought a couple of cutters a few years ago in preparation for our 17 year cicada emergence. I started off trying to use Web Wing and the cutters did not cut it well. I frequently had to cut with scissors along the mark (not cut) made by the cutter. After a few flies trying that, I ditched the web wing and used a foam wing material. The name of it is escaping me at the moment. The foam wing cut very easily. Foam products cut like butter with the River Road cutters. If you are going to be using a non-foam material, I'd try another method. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites