Stillwaters Fly Fishing with Home Made DDD continue…

April 10th, 2008 — dodo

One of the best areas to prospect with a DDD in our still- waters is along weedbeds that reach to the surface. Trout often cruise along these weedbeds in search of aquatic and terrestrial fare, and weedbeds that grow in deep water and which reach to the surface are favoured, since they provide food as well as the protection afforded by deep water. The imitation should simply be cast out alongside the weedbed for the trout to find of their own accord. If the surface action is slow, it pays to give the pattern an occasional twitch with a single, short strip of the line.

Another excellent area to prospect with the DDD is along the windward shore of lakes, where terrestrial and other wind-blown insects are found during and after windy weather. Strong winds stir up the bottom silt close to the bank, making the area even more inviting for trout to feed in as they can go largely undetected. My favourite tactic is to anchor my float tube some distance offshore and to cast directly downwind into the area of turbulence. Because the quarry is largely unseen, be aware that a trout can appear most unexpectedly and is often able to suck in an imitation with only the slightest surface disturbance. In this situation, the angler must allow the trout ample time to turn down before tightening on it.

Equipment OutfittersThe DDD is fairly wind-resistant and consequently anglers must step up their tippet sizes to prevent the fly from twisting the leader during casting. I usually step up my tippets by a factor of one ‘X’: where a certain hook size might normally require a 5X tippet, I use 4X to prevent the coiling associated with bulky, wind-resistant patterns. Since the fly is usually used in windy weather and broken water, increasing the tippet diameter makes little if any difference to the effectiveness of the imitation.

How to make your own DDD

HOOK: Tiemco 100, #6 - #12.

THREAD: 3/0 monocord, brown or black.

TAIL: Klipspringer or deer hair.

BODY: Klipspringer or deer hair.

HACKLE: Brown or dun spade hackle.

LEGS (OPTIONAL): Single strand of Krystal Flash.

Note: Hugh Huntley’s variation of the DDD does not have a hackle. He ’spins’ a collar of klipspringer hair in front of the body. Both Tom Sutcliffe and Hugh Huntley tie in a single strand of Krystal Flash to project out at the neck as apair of ‘legs’.

  1. Tie in approximately 20 to 30 klipspringer hair fibres above the barb (do not first stack them in a stacker). The tail should be approximately the length of the hook shank.
  2. Trim a clump of klipspringer hair from the hide; the hair section should be approximately the diameter of a pencil. Hold the fibres over the hook shank and take three loose turns of thread around them.
  3. Pull the thread tight so that the fibres spin and flare out around the hook shank.
  4. Using the fingers of your left hand, pull the fibres back and take a few turns of thread in front of them.
  5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 until seven- eighths of the hook shank is covered in spun klipspringer hair. Half-hitch and trim the thread.
  6. Remove the hook from the vice and trim the hair into the shape shown, making sure the tails are not accidentally cut. Note that the underside has been trimmed close to the hook shank.
  7. Replace the hook in the vice and reattach the thread directly in front of the body. Tie in a soft spade hackle in front of the bodyhook shank.
  8. Take two or three turns of the hackle in front of the body, tie off the feather and trim the excess. The hackle should be one-and-a-half to two times the gape of the hook.
  9. Form a small neat thread head, half- hitch and trim the thread. Apply head cement to the thread wraps.

with the concave side facing the

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3 Responses to “Stillwaters Fly Fishing with Home Made DDD continue…”

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