Flies

LIGHT  CAHILL  -  WET  FLY

Origin

The line of Cahill Flies was developed by Daniel Cahill of New York in about 1884.  It appears that Dan had created and fished this fly for his native brook trout that thrived in the Catskills.  At that time brown trout had not been introduced and the rainbow had just been stocked.

Daniel was a railroad brakeman on the Erie and Lackawanna Railroad.  A train he was working on became blocked by another derailed train and a can of rainbow trout that was on board was carried by he and another workman a mile to a local stream called Calicoon Creek.  The offspring of these rainbows eventually spread through the Delaware streams.

Ray Bergman author of the best selling “Trout” in 1938, said of the Light Cahill, “ If it was necessary to confine my assortment of flies to only two or three,  this would be one of them. “ Strong words From the man who wrote the definitive word on trout up until that time.

Pattern

  • Hook     --  dry fly type – sizes 10 to 16
  • Thread   --  white or cream – size 6/0
  • Tail        --  lemon wood duck flank fibers
  • Body      --  cream or white,  rabbit or Anton dubbing
  • Wing      --  lemon wood duck flank fibers
  • Hackle    --  cream to white saddle hackles

Tying Instruction

  • Tie on a small clump of duck fibers for a tail, same length as the hook shank
  • Tie on and wrap around the hook the dubbing, from the bend of the hook to the ¼ point
  • Tie on the saddle hackle and wrap two to three times around the hook
  • Clip off the hackle feathers on top of the hook so that the wing can be attached
  • Tie on a medium bunch of duck fibers for the wing and extend past the end of the hook

Flies  Imitated

The Cahill’s imitate a family of mayflies,  Stenonema, which hatch from May through June in the Catskills.  There are now a number of variations that match flies thought the US.

Gary Kutz, Golden State Flycasters, September 2005