It’s sulfur time on the Battenkill, as well as on waters across the country. One of the venerable patterns for matching these hatches is the Light Cahill. Historians don’t seem to agree about whether the pattern was designed by Dan Cahill—a railroad brakeman and fly fisher from Port Jervis, New York in the late 1800s—or if it is a version of Cahill’s pattern first tied by the great Theodore Gordon. Either way, Art Flick wrote of the pattern “To this date I have never met a fisherman who had fished any stream where trout could not be taken on this fly.” High praise, indeed.
Here’s a great extended-body version of the traditional pattern from the mind of author and blogger Matt Grobert, which uses a single wood-duck feather to create the extended abdomen and the tails. The finished product is both elegant and productive, yet it is still quite easy to tie. In this video from Tightline Productions, you’ll see how Matt prepares that wood-duck feather and then ties it in carefully to create the desired effect.
Extended-Body Light Cahill
Hook: Standard dry-fly hook (e.g. Dai-Riki #305), size 12.
Thread: Olive, 6/0.
Tails and abdomen: Wood-duck flank feather.
Wing: Snowshoe-rabbit’s foot.
Body/thorax: Cream rabbit-fur dubbing.
Head: Tying thread.
Something of an improvement over the Darbee’s somewhat fragile Two Feather fly. May have to try this one.
A nice pattern but I think credit for this goes to Poul Jorgenson, who wrote about it in ‘Modern Fly Dressing for the Practical Angler’ in 1976. Poul’s pattern is more complicated and takes a while to tie but is very effective. He also gave credit to Harry Darbee for the original idea. I personally like Poul’s Deer Hair Wing Parachute Dun, which is very durable, floats well, and is a lot easier to tie. And the trout like it!
Thanks for sharing this newer version in one of your excellent videos.
Thanks for the history lesson, Bob!