"There's more bullshit in flyfishing than in a Texas cattle yard" - Lefty Kreh
CDC is a loose translation for the French term Cul De Canard which basically means bottom of the duck. It first hit the fly tying stage back in the early 1980's and it was treated as a wonder material. Yes, it could float but it had some drawbacks:
1. It was said that these feathers resided near the preen oil gland of ducks and geese and were saturated with the stuff. One marketing genius tried to sell the preen oil as a floatant and totally failed because it was the structure of the feather that made it float, not the application of a floatant. That's why CDC flies sink if any liquid or gel comes in contact with it.
2. (Here's my favorite bogus reason for using CDC) - CDC works because it comes from harmless and benign waterfowl (ducks and geese) that pose no threat to a trout. Now, if that were true trout would have been beaching themselves to get away from the nymphs I used to make with raw, untanned MINK fur. (I wish I still had some). Years ago feathers from blue herons and kingfishers were tied into flies and they caught a lot of trout!!!
3. CDC is fragile stuff. It gets chewed up quickly which means your flies will have to be replaced.
A Better Way
1.Use Poly Wing Yarn. It's nonabsorbent (CDC isn't),
2. You can buy miles of it for next to nothing (not with CDC)
3. It's dainty and fine but tough as hell (tougher than CDC)
4. It comes in a zillion colors but you only need three
I can tie dries and emergers down to size 28 with this stuff without making them too top heavy. And after releasing a fish just wipe it with a paper towel (yes, a paper towel) and give it a shake with some silica powder and you're back on the battlefield.
A Word About Silica Powder
The stuff is great because it wicks away moisture and doesn't gum up the fly BUT the stuff that comes with a tiny applicator brush is a joke and here's why.
Most of these products are the "shaker" variety: dump the fly in the bottle, close the bottle, shake 2 or 3 times, open the bottle and fish. This works because the manufacturers of this product threw in "silica gel" along with the silica powder. The gel (tiny rocks) "moves" the powder around to coat the fly. Because the bottle top is closed during the application you do not lose any powder. This is a good idea!
Now, the guys with the applicator brush need the brush to get the powder on the fly and on everything else from hands, sleeves, waders to the surface of the water. One writer says don't use it in Montana because Montana is too windy!!! If silica gel was used you wouldn't need the brush. It was a bad idea!!
Keep fishing!!!!!
Ken
10 comments:
Use both CDC and Poly(treated), but really like Snowshoe Rabbit on my flies as it cleans up really good after a fish takes it (and they will). Have a lifetime supply from a Snowshoe Guide. Thankyou Fran Betters!
Hi everyone, I am also a big fan of poly wings, they work great looped for fishing the film, I make my un sinkable quill with a poly wing as well any color and size to match the hatch, this thing will not sink and it's great for pocket water and faster rifles
Agree on the silica powder...BTW you can buy in bulk on EBay for next to nothing. The powder part is sold as fumed silica powder...used for thickening epoxies etc but it is the same stuff as we are sold as froggs fanny or dry shake. You can get a quart of the suff for about $10-15. The other component is silica crystals which are sold as flower drying crystals on ebay. You can buy a lifetime supply of both for about $20-25 all in and thats essentially what dry-shake is. I've lived in the west and they dont sell the brush on very much...most everyone gets the shake and bake...its too damn windy is very accurate! The tiemco stuff is different than the loon stuff in that the crystals are smaller but its 2X more expensive for no additional benefit from what I have seen. Why not get your favorite shake bottle and refill for very little cost-at least until you lose the bottle!
I don't love poly yarn however...some finer poly's tend to absorb water and get floppy on me so I tend to sub it with snowshoe rabbit foot fur or most lately the EP trigger point fiber. On the snowshoe I cut it off the foot stick it in a blender and sometimes add a little sparkle dub in a dark color to give it some contrast and it just looks better to me the tier! I then take the dubbing and bag it when I use it for a wing I card it (pull apart the clump and stack back together 3 or 4 times until all fibers are more or less going in the same direction)...Snow shoe floats beautifully all day and has a wirey texture that holds its shape through many fish..it doesn't flop on me and you can go pretty easily to a 20 or 22 with it. Lately I have been playing with the EP trigger point fibers. Nice results so far. Its like a cross between the poly and the snow shoe. You dont have to card it comes pre blended in some cool colors(you only need a couple)..its a little more substantial that standard poly so holds up as a post or spent wing without flopping yet ties well in small sizes.
BobT,
I get my silica powder in bulk too and with snowshoe you really don't even need the silica.
Paul Fay,
Haven't tied a looped emerger in years. Thanks for reminding me.
Ken
Ken,
Are you ready for the snow?
GW
Anonymous 5:47
No I am not!!!
Ken
Its a game we play out here in Montana where we try to spot the out-of-state fisherman. Big brim hat with no drawstring; no buff when its 90+ degrees and blowing in the meadows; neoprene chest waiters in the summer instead of shorts and wading socks; 10 boxes of flies on them at all times; every gadget ever made hanging off their vest; huge net catching on every bush; and applying silica using a brush. You nailed it. I always thought the brush concept made no sense.
The absolute best waterproof trick I do is first applying a generous coating of gel, rub it in, and then dip the fly in the silica and shake. It gets me a really good float for many casts. Sometimes I coat the line with some of the gel residue from my fingers if I think the leader/tippet has gotten waterlogged and is pulling the fly under (less of an issue with fluorocarbon).
Different colored zebra midges are the goto fly out here right now. The smaller the better. Caught a 20" rainbow on a size 26 before the snow settled in last week. Haven't been back to fished the Mass. streams in quite a while. Hope they are staying healthy and the wild trout numbers continue to grow.
Kozman,
Good to hear from you! What's it been, 10 years since you moved to Big Sky Country?
The brush concept sinks. Bad product design!!!
Ken
only 6 years in the big country. Loving every minute of it. However, I do miss the autumn fishing in New England from time to time. Out here it goes straight from Summer to winter in late September with maybe an Indian summer for a week in October.
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