The Caddis Fly: Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

Mother’s Day is a day to spend thanking Mom for all she does, and what better way to thank her than a lovely bouquet? But how do we mix up the bouquet of flowers trend to make it as special as our Moms are to us? This got The Caddis Fly Shop Crew thinking, and we thought what better way to appreciate our awesome angling moms than to take them out for a Mother’s day float or wade, and present them with a bouquet of her favorite fly patterns? Nothin’ better than some quality time and tight ties! And not only do flies last longer than flowers, but they may even catch the dinner you can cook for your Mom on Sunday evening!

The Caddis Fly Angling Shop is now running a super sale on flies of all sizes, colors and patterns. Come by the Shop today until 6pm, Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 10-3 to get your favorite fly fishing Mom a set of flies fit for display.

You can also check out our sale fly offerings at caddisflyshop.com under Sale Flies That Catch Fish. Sales will continue online and in shop until all sale flies are sold, so get your single, 1/2 a dozen or a full dozen of your favorite flies while supplies last.

You don’t have to make an actual bouquet, but if you want to set up Mom’s arsenal in a fly box, we’ve got plenty to choose from here. Just let us know that you’d like the flies arranged in the box in your customer comments at checkout.

Here are a few photos of the thousands of flies we have on sale from $0.35!

To all our fantastic Moms, an early Happy Mother’s Day! Thank you for supporting our reel winding, streamer slinging, water logging passion. You are the best!

This series of posts is meant to introduce all of you terrific tiers and cool customers to our small, but fantastic team of anglers here at The Caddis Fly Angling Shop. Each employee answered a number of questions about their fishing expertise, their favorite style of fishing and fishing products. Each week we will publish another employee’s answers to these questions to let you know Who We Are. This series will hopefully give you a peak into who we are, how we fish, and who you are chatting with when you next call or email Caddis.

This week we introduce our shop fly gal.

Who: Maddy Bell, Retail Associate/Internet Sales, Social Media

Time at Caddis: 1 year, 4 months

Are you a Eugene local, or are you a transplant? 

I moved her from Idaho last December, but I am originally from the Seattle area.

How many years have you been fly fishing?

I have been fly fishing for 13 years. I tagged along on my father’s fly fishing trips from a very young age, and I finally asked him to teach me when I was 13. One of the best decisions I’ve made to date!

What is your favorite rod and reel combo?

My favorite rod and reel combination is my Sage One 9′ 5wt rod and 3-tand T-150 reel. I bought the rod just before they discontinued the 590-4 last summer, at the recommendations of a coworker at the shop. (–>Second best decision I have made to date.) The reel was a gift from a fly fishing mentor. They are both awesomely lightweight and I like to fish them on smaller creeks when I go camping.

Wet wade or float, and why?

Wet wade. I’m on foot until I can get a hold of a fishing buddy with one!

Dry fly, streamer or nymph–and do you tie them?

Dry flies since I started. I tied in a class in college and I play around with an old Thompson vise now and again, but I have yet to dive into tying my own arsenal for rivers around Oregon.

Spey or single hand cast? 

I love to double haul, so I would say single hand, but ever since I got my first spey casting lesson from George Cook I’ve been pretty enthused about the Spey style. My Echo Dec Hogan II 12’6″ 6wt is my favorite rod to take out on the Mckenzie to swing.

Salt or Freshwater?

Where do you fish?

States: Washington, Oregon, Idaho

Waters: Puget Sound, Willamette River, Mckenzie River, Owyhee River, North Fork of the Boise River, various small streams in Idaho.

What is your favorite part about working at Caddis?

I enjoy the camaraderie. Because of the efforts the Caddis Fly Crew makes to eliminate the intimidation factor for new anglers, I have been able comfortably ask questions from day one. As a result, I have expanded my fishing expertise significantly in my time here, and I’m really happy to be a part of the team.

When a fellow angler asks, “What is the biggest fish you have ever caught?” what is your answer? 

I learned to “sight fish” from my first mentors. Sight fishing essentially means finding your fish before you cast, quietly dropping dry flies in front of sipping trout in their feeding lanes, often in technical little pockets of slow water. In the midst of this education I was scolded by one of those same mentors for answering the question “What did you catch?” with actual length and weight estimates. He told me that it doesn’t matter how big a fish is; at the end of any day on the water, as long as I caught the ones I wanted to catch, it was a good day. So, that’s how I answer this question.

Maddy is at our guru on all things inventory and availability. She is up to date on any products you might be waiting to come available from your favorite brands, and she knows whether or not you will be able to get that old/new generation spool or rod to outfit your gear. She is also one of our site editors, social media photographers and bloggers. She can be found on the shop floor, taking photos for our Instagram and Facebook feeds. If she is not out front, she’s in the back office updating inventory, helping a customer on the phone or writing a fresh post for oregonflyfishinblog.com.

As a dry fly fisherman, you can ask her what flys would be good to stock and what gear to check out for small mountain streams. She’s always happy to help answer your questions, and if need be, she’ll get a hold of industry experts to track down that answer for you.

Want to know more about the Caddis Fly? Visit our website’s About page at this link and feel free to call or email us any time at our contacts below:

(541)505-8061

caddiseug@yahoo.com

Tight lines until next time!

This series of posts is meant to introduce all of you terrific tiers and cool customers to our small, but fantastic team of anglers here at The Caddis Fly Angling Shop. Each employee answered a number of questions about their fishing expertise, their favorite style of fishing and fishing products. Each week we will publish another employee’s answers to these questions to let you know Who We Are. This series will hopefully give you a peak into who we are, how we fish, and who you are chatting with when you next call or email Caddis.

Who: Jay Nicholas. OregonFlyFishingBlog blogger, writer and general Expert Angler

Jay Nicholas on Elk River – circa 1980 – Photo by Bob Hooton

Time at Caddis: My support for the Shop began in about 2008.

Are you a Eugene local, or are you a transplant? 

I’ve called Corvallis my home off and on since starting college in 1967. A few years in the US Navy and an ODFW assignment at Elk River were temporary adventures away from my Valley “hometown”. I’m classified as a client service specialist and provide general support to Chris and the Shop staff – plus creating video and blog content. I’ve probably produced close to a hundred fly videos on the blog. My support for the Shop began in about 2008.

How many years have you been fly fishing?

I’ve been fly fishing since about 1962 or 63.

Jay Nicholas at the fly bench – circa 2015

What is your favorite rod and reel combo?

Impossible to answer with one product.

I fish Echo, Winston, Scott, Sage, Redington, and Burkheimer rods with Hatch, Nautilus, Hardy, and Bauer reels – whether fishing freshwater estuary or ocean – I love ’em all, from 3 wt. glass switch rods, 4 wt. single hand rods, clear up to powerful 12 wt rods that I fish for Tuna in the ocean.

Wet wade or float, and why?

Yes – I do it all from the upper coast range to the ocean. I follow the fish of the season.

Dry fly, streamer or nymph–and do you tie them?

Yes to all. And I tie ’em all too. That said, my days of tying size #22 dry flies and nymphs are done for good. These days my favorite flies are certainly in the steelhead and salmon demographic, with sea run cutthroat flies in close order.

Spey or single hand cast? 

Of course. I may fish a single hand rod for salmon for three months straight, followed by four months swinging flies on two hand switch and spey rods.

Salt or Freshwater?

Yep. My freshwater season is year-round, but the ocean season is weather dependent, and I hope for April through September.

Jay on the ocean circa 2016

Where have you fished?

States: California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Georgia, British Columbia

Waters: Cascade Lakes, Oregon Coastal Rivers, Columbia River Tributaries (Deschutes, John Day), Northern CA Coastal Rivers, Klamath waters, Dean River, Bella Coola River, Gold River, *Pacific City (OR)

What is your favorite part about working at Caddis?

Great people. I especially enjoy working with Chris. This man knows no limits to energy, creativity, and imagination. It is common for us to be on the phone or chatting by email at 5 AM and then he will head out to the river to guide or into the shop to help fill orders and meet with Industry Reps.

When a fellow angler asks, “What is the biggest fish you have ever caught?” what is your answer? 

The next fish I hook.

Jay is one of the most prolific tiers on the West coast, if not in the fly fishing industry. Just last month we put a box of Jay Exclusive streamers and articulated flies up front that had more flies than we could count–and he’s still tying! Many of the tying videos on our caddisflyshop youtube channel are sessions with Jay. He is a wonderful teacher and a great example for all levels of fly tiers.

As an author, Jay has written numerous books about subjects ranging from fly tying to the art of fly fishing itself, available at The Caddis Fly Shop. He is also one of the main contributions to oregonflyfishingblog.com. Even more of his writing can be found at his personal blog, https://fishingwithjay.wordpress.com.

Jay is having some fun here during winter steelhead season.

He isn’t normally found in shop, but some Saturdays you can find him doing tying demonstrations in the back by the Patagonia duffels and sling packs. We’ll keep you posted right here with updates on the next chance to meet and chat with Jay; conversing with him about fly fishing, tying or truly any subject is a wonderful learning experience.

Want to know more about the Caddis Fly? Visit our website’s About page at this link and feel free to call or email us any time at our contacts below:

(541)505-8061

caddiseug@yahoo.com

Tight lines until next time!