Wet Daddies

Unlike a dry daddy, I think the subsurface offerings are more of a season long proposition. In fact, for some of them, I'm not sure that the daddiness is really that important.  The fly I didn't tie for the POD is a booby daddy, because essentially you can put a set of tits on any pattern and whether you like it or not, it'll probably be more effective than without.

When it comes to standard wet flies,  there are only 2 styles I'm really bothered with: a tippet daddy and what I think of as an Irish style daddy.  The tippet daddy used to just be called a wet daddy in Scotland, but over time I see them being called tippet style or similar. It's not exactly a close imitation and makes a good top dropper any time really but it does come into its own, either on the bob, point or both, when the naturals are around.  I doesn't look like crane fly, it's too big and bulky, it's not even really the right colour but fish love it.  Here's the pattern list. 

Hook: Kamasan B830 or similar size 10 or 12. 

Thread: brown 

Body: natural rafia

Rib: oval gold

Body hackle: red game over front half

Front hackles: GP tippet and brown partridge 

The flies I think of as Irish style, might not even be Irish, but they're popular there and the first one I saw like it was a Frankie McPhillips' pattern.  They'll work anywhere on the cast and the tinsel ones especially will work from opening day to the close. I'd definitely put booby eyes on these and there are days I'd fish 3 of them with a booby version on the point. Essentially a washing line presentation, and regardless of what the purists say absolutely deadly for wild and stocked fish alike. 

Hook: B175 or comp heavyweight size 8-10

Thread: red, light olive or brown 

Butt: glo-brite floss no.4(silver body) ,  no. 8 (hare's ear body) or no.12 (mirage body) or whatever you want. 

Body: silver tinsel, mirage tinsel or hare's ear. 

Rib: silver wire on the tinsel bodies, mirage or gold tinsel on the hare. 

Legs: knotted pheasant tail 

Wings: red game hackle tips on the silver and hare versions badger on the mirage. 

Hackle: soft henny cock in the same colour as the wings. 

Much like the booby option, any of these patterns can accept a muddler head, I usually  don’t bother with the wings and leave the tips of the deer hair a bit longer than usual with these, and to be honest,  I can’t really believe that the added legs make any difference to the fish on the muddlers. But anglers seem to like them.

The last one I included is the gold head daddy, some might feel it’s not really a wet fly but it’s definitely a subsurface daddy pattern. To be honest it’s not a fly I particularly like, and I’ve never really had good results with them, perhaps it’s because I don’t have confidence in them or it’s just the way I fish. I don’t really know, because they certainly work very well for others and although they might be thought of as a small water fly by many, I’ve seen people using them to good effect on bigger waters as a point fly too.  They’re maybe not as popular nowadays as they once were, but if you don’t have an irrational resistance to them, they’re well worth having.

Here's a couple of the many gold head patterns;

Hook: longshank 10-12 with matching bead

Thread: Tan or brown

Body:  Raffia

Rib: Gold oval

Legs: Knotted pheasant tail

Wings: Red game hackle tips

Hackle: Red game cock

Hook: Longshank 10-12 with matching bead

Thread: Tan or brown

Rib: Mirage tinsel

Body: Hare’s ear

Legs: Knotted fine round rubber

Wings: Red game hackle tips

Hackle: Red game cock