In the April/May 2015 issue of Fly Fisherman magazine there was an article written by Charlie Craven about a Jay Zimmerman originated fly called the Clown Shoe. The article labeled the fly as “a no fail caddis fly”. I liked the looks of the fly and tied up the original Clown Shoe and also several variations. I plan fish them this season and see if they are “no fail”.

To tie the fly start the thread in the middle of the hook and wrap back to the bend and back to the middle, next tie in the D rib in the middle of the hook with the flat side facing up and wrap back to the bend then back to the middle of the hook. Tie off and trim excess material. Next tie in the yearling elk hair in the middle of the hook and make one wrap behind the hair to raise it up at an angle as shown in the picture. Tie in a grizzly hackle and on top of the elk hair tie in the MacFly Foam indicator.

Dub from the eye of the hook back to where the elk hair and hackle were tied in and “figure 8” around the indicator. Then dub to the hook eye forming a robust thorax. Last step is to palmer the hackle to the eye of the hook and whip finish. Cut the hackle flush on the bottom of the thorax.

Hook – Tiemco 2487 scud hook sizes #12 – #18
Thread – Olive dun 8/0
Body – Size small clear D rib
Wing – Yearling elk hair
Indicator – MacFly Foam – Orange
Thorax – Black Superfine Dubbing
Hackle – Grizzly cut flat on bottom

John Lazar

Fly tied by John Lazar