Caenis Spinner

Caenis — aptly nicknamed the Angler's Curse — hatch in dense evening clouds on slow limestone rivers and lakes in late summer. The flies are tiny (hooks #24–26), and the rises they produce are maddening: fish feeding inches from the fly and ignoring everything. The spent spinner with white wings flat in the film is the critical stage. Use a long, fine tippet (6X–7X) and a perfect drag-free presentation on glassy water.

Type

dry fly (Mayfly)

Hook sizes

#22–26

Target species

trout

Difficulty

advanced

Best seasons

summer, fall

Materials

• hook: Curved dry fly or Caenis hook #22–26
• thread: White or cream 14/0
• tail: Multiple white Microfibbets, fanned
• body: White or cream thread, slim
• wing: White poly yarn or CDC, spread flat in spent-wing style
• thorax: White or pale cream dubbing, tiny ball

Tying steps

1. Mount a size 22–26 curved or standard dry hook; start 14/0 white or cream thread.
2. Fan multiple white Microfibbets as a tail, spreading them wide.
3. Build a smooth slim body of white or cream thread from bend to the 3/4 mark.
4. Tie in a tiny tuft of white poly yarn or CDC across the hook perpendicular as the spent wing.
5. Figure-eight between the two wing halves to spread them level and flat.
6. Apply a tiny ball of pale cream dubbing as the thorax just in front of the wings.
7. Whip finish with 3 careful turns; apply the thinnest possible UV resin to head only.
8. Apply a micro-drop of head cement and check that spent wings are level and horizontal.