The Puff Daddy is THE staple sulphur pattern on the South Holston and Watauga Rivers. It’s the first fly we tie on whenever we are fishing the sulphur hatch. The original fly was tied with a biot body and a few turns of CDC. We often substitute dubbing for the body, but if you do the same, be sure to keep it sparse!
Quick to tie, this is a true “guide fly”. Tie them up in a variety of sizes (14-20), shades (yellows, olives, oranges), and with varying densities of CDC, as the actual bugs come in a variety of sizes and shades. Fish them dead drift on the surface, skitter them, or swing them subsurface.
If you’re fishing them dry, be sure to use a good desiccant such as Frog’s Fanny or High N Dry Powdered Floatant. If you get a refusal, the first change you should make is to try re-dusting your fly.
Other color and size variations work as great BWO and caddis imitations. This is one of our favorite dry fly patterns – sulphurs or not.
Materials List:
Hook: TMC 100 – Size 14 - 20
Dubbing: Fulling Mill Tactical Dry Fly Dub - Pale Sulphur Yellow
Thread: Semperfli 12/0 Classic Waxed - Primrose
CDC: Fulling Mill CDC - Natural Grey
Alternate Materials:
Hook Alternative: TMC 101 - Size 14-20
Hook Alternative: Fulling Mill 5050 Ultimate Dry Fly Hook - Size 14-20
Thread Alternative: Semperfli 12/0 Classic Waxed - Yellow
Thread Alternative: Uni 8/0 – Light Cahill, Olive, Lt. Olive, Natural Dun
CDC Alternative: Nature’s Spirit CDC – Mallard Grey, Wood Duck, Sulphur Orange
CDC Alternative: Hareline CDC – Natural Dun, Callibaetis
Dubbing Alternative: Super Fine Dry Fly Dubbing - Pale Yellow, Light Cahill, Sulphur Orange, Pale Morning Dun, Sulphur Yellow
Dubbing Alternative: Fulling Mill Tactical Dry Fly Dub – Pale Sulphur Yellow, Yellow, Sunburst Sulphur Orange, Light Cahill, Amber, Eastern Green Drake, Hexegenia
Body Alternative: Turkey Biot – Sulphur Orange, PMD, Yellow, Pale Olive