CdC and sea trout

Joe Bradley's experiments with cul de canard have produced some superbly effective sea trout and salmon flies

An early experimenter with CdC tried a process of decomposition in an attempt to make his own CdC oil in the garden shed. The smell escaping from the jar was said “to have made prowling cats retch, and passing dogs faint”.
I could give you a literal translation of ‘Cul de Canard’, but I might then have difficulty explaining my love affair with this material. Suffice it to say it is a feather taken from the preening gland of a duck or goose.

I am indebted to my friendship with Marc Petitjean, and the ideas of Marvin Nolte for some, but not all, of the content of this article.

At the outset, let me assure you that this material is easy to work with and is very durable. The quality of it does vary and some of the dyeing processes are complex in order to retain its floating qualities, but we are not concerned with floating here.

As to its properties, get yourself a hand lens and have a look at a feather. Note its translucence and the construction of its barbules. What a waste to use this stuff simply for its ability to float. The word “veiling” came repeatedly to my mind when I first saw it, but my ideas took a long time to gel.

The story begins with my first meeting with George. He had just blown himself up for the second time that season. The first time he had dropped his fly box in the river, the next time it was his lighter. Such was his mental state that he simply reached down into the water and activated his automatic life-jacket. At 20 pounds a chuck for a re-arm pack, an early diagnosis was called for. What was driving him to do this?

George had discovered sea trout, a lot of them, a big lot of them, a big lot of big sea trout, in an estuary.
Early indications were that small shrimps were brought in on the tide, had a meeting with fresh water then drifted lamely back out to sea. The sea trout were interested in playing with these items in keeping with Arthur Ransome’s chewing gum theory (ie that chewing gum is a way of eating without ingesting, by way of an explanation for migratory fish taking anything in their mouths).

George was fishing in the daytime with a clear intermediate line and fluorocarbon leader over what looked like weed, but was in fact fish.

He arrived with a seriously small outpoint treble (Partridge CS8, size 16).
“Can you make me some Shrimp patterns on these?” Actually, he said, “Ally’s Shrimps”, meaning the pattern of Mr Alastair Gowans.
“Bleeding fingers”, I replied. The quest was on for a small Shrimp, which would save my tying fingers.

Conventional materials proved a disaster, except for Twinkle and dyed squirrel, which I originally used for the tail. Also, I wasn’t born ambidextrous which is a decided advantage in making this fly. Bulk was the main problem, and if you think a hackle guard will protect your fingers from one of these hooks, think again. George wanted a lot of these flies and I wanted to simplify the pattern or fail.

Essentially, the small Shrimp patterns are designed for daytime fishing, either in clear or clearing water. The larger patterns are for night fishing. The names are prefixed by the abbreviation DA after a hairstyle popular in the late 50’s and early 60’s, and even today amongst the ‘Elvis Lives’ fraternity. So here we go!

This is an excerpt of an article which appeared in the June 2002 issue of Flyfishing and Flytying. More patterns and techniques for using CdC for sub-surface flies appear in that issue.

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Tying George's DA Shrimp

Hook:	Partridge CS 8, size 16.
Thread:	UTC 70 denier (red) or use 8/0. You can use white for silver bodies.
Tail:	Long golden pheasant crest (double the hook shank length).
Eyes:	Golden pheasant tippet, cut in a vee form with black tips dipped in clear varnish and hung on a large hook to dry. These are set easily in ambidextrous mode (bobbin in left hand, materials in right or vice versa if you are left-handed), so that they sit in the vee of the treble. In the case of the tail and eyes, remember to run them the length of the body to avoid any unsightly bumps in your tinsel.
Body:	Gold or silver fine holographic tinsel, with underlayer of brush-on Superglue. Cut with a tag for neatness and wind from head to tail and back again. I don’t bother with a rib when using holographic.
Wings:	Orange CdC tied false hackle style (on stalk), two hackles - concave sides facing each other, complete with tips and all. Place the stem on the side of the hook at about 20 degrees above the hook shank, veiling the body. You can adjust this quite easily by pulling on the stalk.
Throat:	Yellow CdC tied false hackle style, short - concave side facing hook.