THE
LOUDER CATALPA WORM
– by Mike Louder
Edited by David Hutton
In this, the first of what I hope are many more guest contributor spots on this blog, Mike Louder of Illinois takes the stage.
It started with a simple discussion between us turned to the mention of catalpa worms, and THIS led to his mention of experimenting with them as a foam fly. One thing led to another and, well, here we are... the first of what I hope are many more walk-in authors.
Without further ado, lets have Mike step us through his idea for, "The Louder Catalpa Worm."....
"This is a Catalpa worm. There are four different species of this creature, which is not a worm, at all, despite its name. It is, in fact, the caterpillar form of the Catalpa Sphinx Moth....
The Worm I Have Never Seen
I have wanted to imitate these 'worms' with a fly for some time, but where I live in Illinois, the Catalpa tree is pretty rare....well, I've never seen one that I know of, anyway. So, I'm tying these based on images and pictures.
When first hatched, the larvae are very pale, but the last stages of growth exhibit darker, contrasting colors, usually green and black. This advanced form is the one I will mimic.
You may wonder, that if I've never seen one of these things, why do this?
First of all, why not?
Besides, these caterpillars are renowned as an excellent live bait, so a fly seems like a natural thing to craft. I have tried to imitate the one pictured above.
Prep The Shank
In this pattern, I will be doing an articulated hook arrangement, one hook in front, one in back. Each section will be a symmetrical copy of the other, the whole thing jointed to pivot in the middle.
The first step, then, is choosing the hook. I go with an Aberdeen hook as my choice for both front and rear sections. I have tried this pattern on #8, #6, and. #4....and have settled on #4 as my favorite.
Mounting one of the hooks in the vise, I apply a full length thread base to the shank, then I coat the hook and thread base with head cement. My cement is clear nail polish, usually picked up at the Dollar Tree. Sally Hansens 'Hard As Nails,' or most any other head cement will work as well.
Finally I add one more wrap of thread to the hook shank. These preliminary steps provide a surface with grip to which the materials will be later applied.
The
Legs Have It
Next comes the application of legs to the
hook. As you can see in the opening photo, the caterpillar has
several pair of stubby, grasping legs along its lower body. They are
evenly spaced, and aren't very large.
I have tried several things to
represent these knob-like legs, to include black rubber hackle, and
black workbench broom bristles. But, I settled on soft silicone 'squiggly legs' as the best.
I get the legs from cheap,
stretchy wiggle toys – the kind you find in dollar and craft
stores. See the picture below...
I
like to use four of the legs on each hook, cut about 3/16 - 1/4 inch
long. I use an x-shaped, Figure 8 thread wrap fto attach each leg,
one half of the squiggly leg to either side. These legs are pused
down and formed around the hook shank as seen on the pic below, and a
little crazy glue holds them in shape while I wrap the thread.
The Body Is Foam
The
body for my Louder Catalpa is cut from EVA foam rods – craft foam,
in other words. I cut the foam rod into sections, then thread them
onto a bodkin for positioning. I use a basic school ruler, the kind
with a dished groove along the top, to hold the foam and bodkin in
alignment....
In my first attempts at this fly, I butt-glued the segments together.
But this made hard spots in the foam that made application of the
outer thread wraps difficult. Then I hit on the idea of running
twelve pound monofilament line through the center holes using a large
upholstery needle. Then I apply a tiny drop of crazy glue where the
monofilament line enters the foam....
In
the picture above, I show them separated so that you may see the
mono. But these sections are butted together when the mono is glued
in. In my opinion, this method enhances the segmented effect of the
worm once completed. Three of these segments is about right, sized to
fit on the hook shank.
Once I have the body sections linked
together on the mono, it is time to mount them to one of the hooks
with legs attached. I
apply crazy glue to the top of the hook and legs and seat the foam in
place.
This first one will be the rear....
Once the foam rear body is glued to the hook, start your thread at the back of the hook and evenly wrap it to the front. This is something like wrapping the thread around an extended body fly.
These wraps should be evenly spaced around the body, and between the legs. You are creating a segmentation effect here, and you'll need a good bit of tension.
Add a small drop of super glue where each thread wrap crosses under the hook shank the leg center. This locks everything down.
When It Has to Squirm - Articulate!
When caterpillars fall in the water, they tend to wriggle and squirm.
The articulation we will add helps to imitate that.
Once the glue has cured, remove the rear hook and body and remount the front hook in the vice in the usual orientation. Dress it the same as the rear hook with thread, ending at the bend.... now you are ready to make the articulation joint between the front and rear hooks.
Holding the completed rear hook in your hand, run a piece of 12 lb. monofilament line through the hook's eye to make a loop. Then, affix the two ends of the loop to the front hook shank with several loose wraps of thread.
Now, tweak and adjust the two ends of
this loop so the rear worm section rides close to, and in line with, the front
hook, and secure with loose wraps.
Tighten up the thread wraps and
wrap forward to bind the mono, to just behind the eye of the front hook. Then, bend the
mono line back over the first wraps and tightly run another layer of
thread back to the bend of the hook – then add a bit of super glue
to permanently bind it all together.
This ensures the loop won't
pull free.
Now we are heading for the home stretch. All you will do next is repeat what you did for the rear, to make the forward body portion. Just do the same as before, and secure the front body section to the hook in the same manner.
Finishing Touches
I used a black marker to finish the critter, making a dark, contrasting line along the top, and adding a dot between the segments.
Finally, I used clear nail polish and coated the entire worm. This seals the whip finish, and protect the thread on the foam."
Mike is one of those fly tyers that ties solely for the enjoyment of the work. He is wheelchair-bound, you see, and knows he may never have the chance to see his creations fished.
But that doesn't stop him; he takes the cards he is dealt, and makes the most of his hand. He loves the challenge of the vise. and has a high old time in the process.
In that, I think he can inspire us all.
I'd like to recognize Mike Louder for his pictures, for enduring my many questions throughout this process, and for approving my meager editing efforts.
Writers should always strive for a job well done... even mediocre ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it.
Would you like to add the catching pattern(s) seen here to your own fly or tackle box? Do you have questions, gripes, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com
Thanks so much for reading, and...
Tight Lines,
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