What the heck is a Cahill?

[@edpeter9411]

“I think we’re fine, we’ve got a fishable fly”. I think that’s my favorite part of your videos. Thanks for another great video.

[@ejmacewan8942]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND PASSION THAT YOU BRING,,, WELL DONE 👍 BE SAFE

[@SavageFlies]

Well thank you EJ! I appreciate the kind words my friend. :-)

[@MyItalians]

Morning Matt. I like the look. Have a blast fishing and I hope you will take a video of your trip. Have a blessed day

[@SavageFlies]

You know I will Nich! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll have some luck and come back with decent video. :-)

[@jamesvatter5729]

That's definitely a staple for summer trout boxes. Good job, Matt. I hope the weather cooperates with your trip.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Jim! It looks like the weather is going to be nice. No rain and not too hot. Fingers crossed the forecast is right. :-)

[@johngallagher5821]

Matt, great the. Love it when you do the classics. Have fun in the Catskills!

[@SavageFlies]

You know I will John! Have a great weekend too my friend. :-)

[@jimholland1592]

Good morning Matt☕️☕️ Nice recovery, and good looking bug it will serve you well. Not looking good for me waiting to hear back for folks and I will give you a heads us👍

[@SavageFlies]

I know man... it was a pretty short notice invite but you're always welcome. And when you see the amazing footage I'm going to get, you'll definitely want to come up with me next time!!

[@johnnylightning1491]

Another nice classic fly. Have fun fishing and keep the good stuff coming.

[@SavageFlies]

You know I will Dave! With any luck I'll come back with some decent fishing footage. :-)

[@lorawinfrey9112]

Good looking fly I can imagine that in a couple of other colors. Hello Kitty

[@SavageFlies]

Ha! Thanks Lora. :-) Have a great weekend!

[@TERRYBIGGENDEN]

I've always admired that fly. It's just beautiful. Very nicely tied. :-)

[@SavageFlies]

Well thank you Terry! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@laytonmarvin3790]

Great recovery Matt, when it happens to me, I grab my hackle pliers, the heavy one, and clamp it to the thread. Have a awesome time and thanks for sharing

[@SavageFlies]

Outstanding tip! I didn't even think of that Layton. Now that info is filed away in the back of my brain. :-)

[@bigdaddy99929]

Wonderful little fly. Have a great time Matt!! Thank you 😊

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Clyde! I'm sure hoping to. :-)

[@karljones6594]

Good morning Matt. This is a great pattern to bring on trip. Mike's book is great for history on the region. Thank you for the great tie this morning. Hope you have a great holiday and enjoy your trip. Stay safe my friend and good luck.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Karl! And you bet I will. :-)

[@RyanAshley419]

That is one of my go to fly tying manual. I really like doing the Catskill style, even though I have never actually fished that area. Yay, Peanut!

[@SavageFlies]

Yeah, I kind of think of the Catskills as the landing point from where fly fishing came over from Western Europe. And if this style of fly hadn't been created there, it would have been created in the next region with a lot of fishermen-- whether that be upstate, New England, the Appalachians, or lower Smoky Mountains.

[@TrappingTheMitten-JohnHowell]

A definite must have in the box from May to August here in Michigan!

[@SavageFlies]

That's what I'm hearing John!

[@jamesphillips2216]

Awesome history lesson on the fly, only thing better is the fly it’s self!! Thanks Matt for sharing!!

[@SavageFlies]

You got it my friend! I appreciate you watching. :-)

[@Hunter711pa]

Nice job Matt I like how you did the wings with the slips flared out Looks a lot easier than trying to separating them evenly from one clump. Thanks for the video.

[@SavageFlies]

You bet David! And hey- did you get the note that you won the Fulsher book? Send me an email! [e-mail]

[@martyrothman3933]

Good morning Matt good morning everyone this is one of my favorite flies

[@SavageFlies]

Happy Friday to you Marty! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@JamesMcCutcheon]

Great Book. Great Fly. Great Fly Tying Channel. Thank you Matt. This is my favorite Fly Tying Channel.

[@SavageFlies]

Well thank you Jim! I certainly appreciate all the support you've given me these first couple of years. :-)

[@charlieboutin3341]

Ok..another book I need!😂 I’ll be tying this just because of the history, and also it’s a great fly. Would love to fish the Catskills, maybe someday. Our creeks and rivers are disappearing in this severe historic drought in central Tx. Very depressing. Have a great trip Matt! Looking forward to seeing some awesome fishing videos.🙂 Thanks as always my friend!👍👍 Hope you, and everyone have a great and safe 4th of July weekend! God bless and God bless America 🇺🇸 🎣👍

[@SavageFlies]

Great comment Charlie and you too my friend! I'll definitely get some fishing footage. Whether it's good or not is yet to be determined. Fingers crossed. :-)

[@chevyguy6510]

Thanks again Matt and Peanut. Great to see the "oops" moments as well!

[@marshallbaldwin8960]

I really dig this Cahill. It looks really like a fish catching fly. Thanks Sir Matt for keeping me motivated to work on my craft.

[@barbaraemerich1921]

WOW! I love this fly! I definitely want to try this one! Thank you Matt! You are such an inspiration to me!

[@SavageFlies]

Wow Barbara, this is such a kind comment to get. I really appreciate it. Have a great weekend and 4th of July!

[@epsieblaine7968]

This one of the great Catskill flies.I have this book,it's a great book.They are five different ways of tying these wings.Everone should try them all,and see which way they like the best.See you left room for the turel knot.Are you going to use the turel knot.Most people dont.Think I sent you a pic of my shadow box of the eleven flies in this book,added the Witchet to make twelve.Great book great flies and have great trip Matt. Ken

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Ken! Nope, I've never even tied a Turle knot but I know they used to in the old days. Have a great weekend my friends. :-)

[@FlyTyer1948]

Have a safe & fun trip, Matt. We would all appreciate an update when you get home. The Catskills are lovely, even though the waters are often heavily fished. When you’re in the mountains, see if you can find some feeder streams if the weather is hot. Thank you for your good words. Another excellent, highly visible fly that I always wanted in my dry box. At first before I found I could substitute materials, I tied it with a quill body. Later I switched to dubbing bodies. I don’t think they look as classy, but dubbed bodies are easier & faster. Plus, I don’t think the fish care about “classy.”

[@SavageFlies]

You bet Bob. I think quill bodies look pretty cool but the extra steps of preparing and soaking them is usually too much work for me. I'll definitely be looking to hit some of the less populated stretches around Roscoe. But I've also got to hit some of the world famous pools I've always read about. With any luck, I'll come back with some decent footage. :-)

[@michaelzsizseri8015]

Matt you and your family enjoy your trip 👍🙏

[@SavageFlies]

Thank you Michael!

[@johnsamothrakis4621]

Hi Matt, Have a Great time . Sounds like a Blast, Stay Safe👍

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks John! I sure hope to. :-)

[@vrich3733]

Matt always keeping it real! Have a great trip!!! 👍

[@jimgollach6202]

Enjoyed watching Matt! I really liked watching how you fixed the broken thread part on your fly. Had this happen to me a few times, I fixed it the same way you did. Glad to see i had the right idea. Enjoy your trip! Tight lines. 👍

[@SavageFlies]

Yep Jim, we do whatever works! It's not always the prettiest but I don't suppose most fish care. :-)

[@davidhughes2622]

Hi from Kansas City 🎣🤠 Dave Hughes. I really appreciate you putting the Cahill to the video. It really is good to see when you have a problem as we All do you don't edit it out you fix it and continue on.. Thanks for your time and thoughts on this video. Good health for you and your's.🎣🤠 Dave Hughes. I'm just trying 14 ott thread, it's a little bit light for I tye a ton of dubbing loops for my body's and over-wrap with #4pound Stren blue line. I know it's over-kill but the flys last for 50 or more panfish, they really chew them up. Thanks for your time. 🎣🤠 Dave Hughes.

[@knowyourjoe8826]

Great content as always. Hope your trip is enjoyable. Thanks for sharing.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Bill! Fingers crossed that I get some good footage. Your hat is going to be a blessing. :-)

[@leemowers9395]

Thanks Matt for the nice classic pattern, Always nice to see your videos. I think the thread breaking was mostly self inflicted, see my other comment.

[@edwardchavez5627]

Good Afternoon Sir Matt, Mayflies all of them are great and fun to ty. Hi peanut 🥜 cool cat. Speaking of cat Catskill version flies are totally awesome I love their look to me it's one of my favorite flies to tie. I'm in the middle of a cook for a couple worker's retirement party. 4 pork butts, 3 Briskets and a whole lot of sausage 😋yum. By the way the big 63 tomorrow my goodness I'm starting to feel my age. Have a great 4th of July and thank you for all you do.

[@SavageFlies]

Edward- oh my gosh... happy birthday to you! I remember your birthday being in July- mine is too. :-) And man, that barbecue sounds amazing. Have fun at the ceremony. I know it'll be a big hit! Have a great 4th my friend and make sure to tune on Monday for the next name-the-fly holiday streamer. :-)

[@edwardchavez5627]

@@SavageFlies 💯👍👌❤❤❤

[@joeduca8582]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDWARD!!! And many more! :o)

[@joutdoorsmen23]

Good looking fly Matt, good luck 🍀 and enjoy your trip!!!!!!!!

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks! I'm hoping for a great week. :-)

[@davehall2160]

Cool looking fly Matt I have always wondered about the name of this fly, now I know Thanks for the video and history lesson

[@SavageFlies]

You got it Dave! I appreciate it my friend. :-)

[@harryjoesather6539]

hey matt i got so many books on my amazon list from you its funny...i keep getting them one by one. lol thanks . see ya joe.

[@crowdaddy8355]

Awesome video. Hope you have a great trip. Thanks Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

I sure hope to Chad! And BTW, I just sent you a small package to say thanks for all the stuff you've shared with me this past year. :-) It'll go out in tomorrow's mail.

[@HB-bc5po]

Another great fly! Thanks for all you do.

[@SavageFlies]

You bet HB! I appreciate you watching my friend. :-)

[@ybarrajc]

Thanks Matt another nice fly, my list is getting longer. Have a blessed day my friend.

[@SavageFlies]

Thank you and you too! Have a great weekend. :-)

[@garrettswoodworx1873]

Have a great trip!

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Garrett! I sure hope to. :-)

[@dennisfretz1814]

Great looking ty Matt , wondered where you got all this cat hair now I know. Have a great trip, get some Biggins. Tight lines Denny

[@SavageFlies]

Hahaha! Now that you mention it Denny, my cat Peanut is about the color of an Adams gray. :-)

[@doncogswell9596]

Hi Matt. With the risk of being sacrilege, this pattern may be a good candidate for a pair of Wally Wings; using the same flank feathers. It would change the shape of the wing a bit, but... Just a thought. Have a good trip, take some video footage and enjoy not having to brush-hog!.

[@SavageFlies]

Hahaha! Oh yeah, the farm can wait another week. I'm going to be in the fly fishing mecca of the world for the next week. :-)

[@kanoutdoors5320]

I live in western NY and I'm brand new to fly fishing and tying, I'll be tying this fly. I haven't fished in the Catskills but I will eventually get there, it's only about 2 hours from me. Thank you for your videos they are informative and helpful. 👍

[@SavageFlies]

Thank you for your kind words and welcome to the sport my friend!

[@jeffreystone7327]

Very nice fly. Actually it’s one I had heard of before I was interested in fly fishing. Some are just legends. This is one of them. Very nice job and great video. Thank you Matt. Have an awesome 4th. of July weekend.

[@SavageFlies]

You got that right Jeff! The Royal Coachman, The Adams... both classic American flies. And this one too. Imagine all the famous tiers and fishermen who have caught fish with this thing. It's cool to think about.

[@Jd-yc3gw]

Good morning Matt. ☕️ time watching you tie. Your style in front of the camera is very enjoyable. Sometimes when you are tying it’s almost like someone watching could converse with you when you are describing what you are doing. Enjoyed todays video. Good recovery on the thread break. I noticed someone in the comments suggested using hackle pliers which I think would be a great idea. Going to keep that tip in my memory. Some of the folks who tie up here have reported quality control issues with UTC thread both in dye lot consistency and thread strand breakage. I don’t go through enough thread yet so I personally haven’t but there are some who tie lots and at one who has tied commercially have brought it up. You said you were going to be camping so do you tent camp? I’m trailer trash ( travel trailer) when we go. Still have my tent but it’s not been used since for many years. I hope you have a safe and enjoyable trip. Looking forward to some “fish” stories on your return. Take care.

[@SavageFlies]

Yep, tent camping this trip as I’m going solo. I keep a “short notice camping tote” in my garage with the necessities- tent, bag, sleeping pad, hammock, cookware, lights, etc. All the basics I might need if I’m driving through the mountains and find a place I want to pull over and fish for a day. Of course I’ve put a little more thought into this trip as I’ll be up there for five nights. It’s going to be a blast! Probably five rivers I want to spend time on but will be largely dependent on the flows and water temps as to which ones I can fish. Thanks for the kind words too. It’s taken a couple years but I’m slowly getting more comfortable on camera. 😁

[@edwardmlotkiewicz2343]

Nice,classic tie. Love the videos. Good luck in the Catskills.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Ed! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll be a successful trip. :-)

[@edwardmlotkiewicz2343]

@@SavageFlies Fish on!

[@hirkojs]

I definitely gotta order that book. Great looking fly with a nice thread recovery

[@SavageFlies]

If you like the history of these classic flies and tiers, this book is absolutely amazing! You'll love it. :-)

[@hirkojs]

Just got my copy of Mike Valla’s “Tying Catskill-Style Dry Flies in yesterday’s mail & so far it’s absolutely fantastic just in the 1st couple chapters. Mega Thx for recommending it. I hope you had an outstanding fishing trip

[@justinmcquaide4862]

Great video as always Matt absolutely loving the channel not surprised your subs are over 10,000 already . Fair play on showing your just human like the rest of us lol .Just bought myself a Regal Medallion vice with stainless steel jaws yesterday. Really excited and looking forward on using it !!

[@mikeney5113]

This is a great pattern matt.it does very well Here in Central and Northern pa as well.good tie on this one matt.looks goid.good luck on your trip!

[@SavageFlies]

Thank you Mike! I've been wanting to go up there for years and can't believe I'm finally making it happen. If I have any luck I'll make sure to bring back some video. :-)

[@cheflexx778]

So I just finished tying up some of your thread caddises this morning and looks like I need to tie up some cahills as well. LOL looking forward to fishing with you my friend. Safe travels.

[@SavageFlies]

Same here Alex! We're going to have a blast my friend. :-)

[@cheflexx778]

@@SavageFlies Just know that I'm a rookie. So any lessons you can give me on fly fishing will be greatly appreciated. ;-)

[@SavageFlies]

@@cheflexx778 I'm going to teach you how to get your flies out of trees. I've been practicing that for years. :-)

[@leemowers9395]

changed the playback speed of the video to .25x to watch your whip finish, the thread slid up the whip finish tool around the bend, if it was 70 denier UTC, the loop may have broken the thread as you tried to pull it tight. First thought, slow down a touch and thread is tight to the fly before removing the point of the tool. It looked like you had a loop of loose thread when you lifted it to slide the point out and instead the loose loop slid up the shaft instead. One other thought, if the thread had too many twists, the loose loop would tend to flip forward keeping it on the tool instead of falling off the point. If that is the case, you may want to developer a habit of spinning the thread counterclockwise before a whip finish to help avoid the issue.

[@SavageFlies]

Lee- outstanding advice! I didn’t even think to slow the video down to observe what went wrong. I’m definitely going to do that to figure it out. The funny thing though- I do the same process on every whip finish, sometimes dozens of flies a day and this rarely happens but it happened twice last night. But thank you for the comment!

[@SavageFlies]

I just rewatched this at 1/4 speed and you are absolutely right! Thank you for this comment. Keeping this in mind and watching out for the thread jumping back over the hook will make me a better tier. You rock Lee!!

[@tubbyguyoutdoors]

If peanut learns how to tie you might be out of a job with him stealing the show like that 😂 another great tie and best of luck on your trip Matt . Thanks for sharing

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks! Got a lot of stuff to do today to get ready to hit the road in the morning. :-)

[@FishTales_ShortStories]

I used the Cahill fly recently and had success with it on a 3-day float trip on various sections of the West Branch of the Delaware. Save for future trip ideas to that area: TroutFitters in Deposit NY for accommodations and Ron Beck for guide services (There are many other fine accommodations and guides these happen to be among my favs). For more info on the Beaverkill and Willowemoc pools and parking try to locate the set of pocket fold maps made by the local TU group you might still find them for sale at the Livingston Manner Fly Fishing Museum or possibly at the local fly fishing shops in the Roscoe area.

[@brunoarseneault9905]

Those Pale mayfly are wildly spread in whole North America, very effective in East and Rockies too.👍

[@SavageFlies]

Cool to hear Bruno! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@wingman8447]

A classic style. Can vary size and color for many applications. The trout won’t know about your thread. They’ll eat it.

[@SavageFlies]

Ha! You got that right my friend. :-)

[@MarcTelesha]

Book soft over used is $50 now and Hardcover is north of $100. Kindle is $21. I stopped making wings on my Catskill Dries. Makes it faster and easier and they work just as well. Also CDL for the tail is my go to now a days.

[@thomasdurkin8719]

Have you ever used Peanut's fur for dubbing? I had my sister send me fur from her cat's after she brushed them and I blended it with some orange polyester yarn clippings to bump up the color. It worked pretty good.

[@SavageFlies]

No, I haven't yet! She is pretty much an Adams gray so maybe I'll borrow her the next time I run out of muskrat. :-)

[@jeffjackson5331]

Nice

[@toddslichter7831]

A friend of my went fishing on the Henry's Fork of the Snake River in Idaho nearly 30 years ago. When asking the local fly shop what the fish had been hitting, the store employee said "size 32 Pink Cahills". My buddy bought several and went fishing. Sure enough, the fish loved them and soon he was fighting big rainbows and cutthroats. Tippet size equivalent to 10X(1#ish) meant no fish in the net. He then proceeded to tie on some 15# tippet and a big Wooly Bugger and started landing fish. Soon he had an audience due to the fact he was netting these huge trout. When asked what he was using he showed those in attendance and they "spat" out their disgust that he would ever think to spoil the trout fishery with bass flies. He didn't much care about their feelings and went on fishing big flies to catch big fish. 32 Pink Cahills...too small to tie and too small to land fish of any size. Sorry for my background story of the Cahill pattern. 😂 I tie them down to 16-18, but mostly in 12-14...great fish catcher. Thank for sharing Matt and have a great Independence Day weekend.

[@SavageFlies]

This is a crazy story Todd! I'd be with your buddy on this one. And you know what I've always thought? Any dry fly smaller than a 22 or so looks like every dry fly smaller than a 22. If I'm tying an Adams that small, I'd skip the dubbed body and just make it out of the tying thread. And I'd certainly skip the upright wings. So is it even still an Adams? Probably not. But it's a sulphur, or a light Cahill, or a BWO, or a Hendrickson. At a certain point, at least to me, when they're that small they're all pretty much indistinguishable. You have a great weekend too my friend!

[@toddslichter7831]

@@SavageFlies my thoughts exactly. 😎

[@joeduca8582]

Nice tie Matt. Weird how that thread frayed then broke, good save dude! Could be a burr on the bobbin, whip finish tool, hook eye, or just a bad run of thread. I tied the Dark Cahill Wet version of the Cahill when I was learning how to tie, long before I graduated to "classic" dries, don't know if I ever will graduate ;o( Interesting article on Dan and the fly but I don't remember what mag it was in. I just read a good article from Fly Anglers On Line - "Cahills, the rest of the story". Apparently the train Dan was on was blocked by a derailed work train. It was a hot summer day and his train was carrying a can of big brood stock rainbow trout, maybe destined for the Calidonia fish hatchery. Thinking the fish wouldn"t survive the heat, he and the crew carried the can a mile to Calicoon Creek and dumped them. They survived and their offspring spread through the Delaware watershed. That same Calidonia hatchery use to stock big brood stock rairbow in Green Lake state park back in the late 70's. That was always a stop for me when fishing the central NY streams in spring and fall. They were BIG, along with smaller very sivery blue "bows that were fun to catch on Mepps spinners. Never got a big one but it was a beautiful place to fish from shore. This video was great, thank you. Have a fun, safe trip Matt!

[@SavageFlies]

Yeah that is a cool story! I saw it too, but only in that one place so I didn't necessarily want to share it. But I'm sure there's at least some truth to it. :-) Oh man, Mepps spinners... I grew up on those things! And Rooster Tails. With an ultra-light spin caster, that was some fun fishing for a kid back in GA. Now, about this thread break... check out Lee Mower's comment, I think he nailed it. He watched it in 1/4 speed and noticed the front loop during the whip finish slipped around the back side of the hook, and it just got all mangled up when I tried to pull it tight. And that's exactly what happened. I'd never even thought to watch my screwups in slow motion. I learned something today and became a better tier. I love this game! Okay, one more video to get done before heading up to NY. Back to the vise for me. Have a great 4th!

[@joeduca8582]

@@SavageFlies Yes, I did the same at a slow speed. I couldn't tell what it wrapped on. To me it looked like the thread tightened on a loose wrap and frayed it like a girth hitch when you pulled tight. You could see the curly frayed pieces explode then it broke. :o\ Great save though Matt, I heard Peanut say you stopped a CATastrophe! :o)

[@SavageFlies]

@@joeduca8582 Oh my gosh that's a bad dad joke! I've never heard of a girth hitch but I can envision what it might be. I think I use one when pulling a fence post out of the ground with my tractor. But then chain behaves a lot differently than thread. Anyway, I'm going to rewatch it in slo-mo on my big screen. :-)

[@shanecouch8328]

Caught 30 fish in 2 hours on this fly last week

[@SavageFlies]

Wow! I can't even remember catching 30 bream in a farm pond in two hours before. Maybe as a kid, but still... this is cool to hear!

[@rmartin1914]

You should use stiffer materials for your hackle and tail. The length of the tail and hackle should equal the length of the straight portion of the hook. The Cahill is not a long bodied insect, no need to tie on a 1x long dry fly hook. The Mustad 94840 is perfect protionally to the natural? The hackle should be ginger, a yellow brown. When you see the naturals, you immediately see why.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks for the pointers.

[@jimjobes5187]

tie them in a cripple y'all be glad you did 😉alot of the times the Catskills fish are picky

[@SavageFlies]

Excellent tip! Now I know what I’m doing tonight. 👍

[@jimjobes5187]

@@SavageFlies don't forget a decent supply of iso's good luck can't wait to hear how you make out there it's suck a beautiful place I am blessed it's in my backyard 😁

[@markmartinak2089]

give peanut a ear scratch