Recently, I watched with some bemusement, how David Taylor works his CdC with almost no tools at all. Check out David’s SBS of a Niger Barb nymph here.

When he said that nobody’s got the cash for Marc Petitjean’s CdC Magic Kit (or something along those lines), I stood up and saluted. I’ve been a fan of David’s ever since he suggested a pattern that made a big difference on my only trip ever to the hallowed waters of Thrift (check out Flies for Thrift). David has the look of a certain Nazarene, and a working man’s hands, and when I saw him split that thread and say those words, he gained some more of my respect. He’s never thanked me for being such a big fan, but you know, every dog has his day.

Speaking of dogs.

Speaking of dogs. The only tool he uses is a banged up bulldog clip. Man, that’s legendary. Anyway. I can’t brag with super smooth 2024 hands, either. On any given day I could be working or playing with wood, clay or metal, but every day sees some aggressive fingerstyle acoustic guitar playing, and most likely a new layer of some sort of glue, and a couple of stab wounds or scratches from fish hooks. Yes, I can’t dare scratch certain itches with my crusty bare hands, and no, I can’t split thread without using an awl (or bodkin, if you prefer, lol). I’ll illustrate my process as soon as possible, but I’m one dude with two hands and a phone camera. I hear the tripod and self-timer idea, but it’s too much of a faff for the blurry results. I’m sorry about that.

Watching him do up that fly, and swallowing my envy over the insane fish he catches with it, I wondered if Dave might be interested in what I’ve been doing to assist my CdC tying, since it costs next to nothing.

I like to superglue some foam strips into my bulldog clips. This makes for a more secure grip on the feathers, but also avoids damage that I’ve done with some rough clips.

“I use a craft knife for the cuts – another cheap tool I can’t be without.”

Then, even better, what you want is to organise yourself a foam triangle, 2cm + in thickness. I superglued some sheets together for mine. Then, cut a few slits around 5mm deep into the foam. I use a craft knife for the cuts – another cheap tool I can’t be without. This simple foam triangle allows me to do damn near everything the Petitjean kit does, and again, it doesn’t get any cheaper (unless of course you buy your foam at a fly fishing shop, in which case it will cost the farm. I’m sorry, I do love our fly shops. But they charge five to ten times what I pay for the exact same stuff at my nearest craft store, which I think is just plain nuts).

You can use single feathers or double them up, mixing different fibre lengths and colours, etc. The different slit lengths will accommodate any size CdC feather. You can cut longer CdC feathers along the shaft and use a short section in a shorter slit to prep it for the clip, if only a small amount of CdC is required, like in the dry fly above. Or, maximise and make the densest CdC brushes ever, turning the material into a viable body material for bigger flies. I could go on about this magical little foam triangle, or just urge you, Dave, to make one and see what you can come up with.

Gully-plugging shrimp

The CdC Magic Triangle and other overlooked but indispensable tying tools will pop up again in future posts. For now, below, some pics of a gully-plugging shrimp to illustrate and avoid another thousand words:

For the record, I was going to call this post ‘Stick it to the CdC Man’, but I have had the honour of meeting Marc Petitjean, and I found him very friendly and generous. He picked out a CdC caddis in my fly box, and smiled, “Zis is nice… are your caddisses really zis smol?” Were it not for his tricks, I’d not have thought of mine.