The Europea-12 has it's origins in the beautiful country side of France, and is an highly celebrated dryfly among fly anglers the world over. The rather simple, yet effective concept in this fly makes it a safe bet on rising trout feeding on adult caddis flies. Here follows my take on this petite French delicacy.
What makes this fly worth of your flybox is in particular that this fly has a great profile/silhouette (as shown in the picture above). This makes it a natural choice if the fish is taking caddis-flies or sedges that are not moving too much around on the surface. In other words, this will work wonders when presented with a dead-drift; a quality that many caddis imitations lack.
Europea-12 (Variant)
Hook: Standard dry fly hook size 10 to 20 Thread: Fiery Brown 8/0 Body: Dubbing made from brown poly-yarn Ribbing: Black sewing thread (waxed in this case) Wings: Two naturally beige mallard breast feathers Hackle: A feather from a natural red game rooster cape Thorax: Brown Superfine poly-dubbing Horns: Moose mane
The materials: Moose mane, red or brown rooster hackle, mallard breast feathers, sewing thread stained in black cobblers wax, hooks and brown poly-yarn. The yarn is to be made into a coarse dubbing for the body, and the Superfine dubbing is for the thorax. The mallard feathers should be naturally beige in color.
Step 1: The Hook
For this fly I use a standard dryfly hook.
Step 2: The Thread
Tie on the thread. Here I use the Fiery Brown 8/0 from UNI.
Step 3: Tie in the Ribbing
Tie in the ribbing material and make adjacent wraps of thread all the way back into the bend of the hook.
Step 4a: Dubbing the body
Make a thick, torpedo-shaped body with the thickest part being closer to back of the abdomen, so that the longest tapering is going forward.
Step 4b: Dubbing the body
Notice the "bushyness" of the coarse dubbing from the poly-yarn.
Step 5: Wrap the Ribbing
Wrap the ribbing in even turns to make a nice segmented body.
Step 6a: The Horns
Make the horns by tying in two fibers of moose hair, either from the mane or from the body. The length should be at least the length of the hook.
Step 6b: The Horns
Separate the horns with some crossing turns of thread, and make tight wraps of thread back to the joint of the abdomen to secure the butt-ends of the horns, before trimming off.
Step 7a: The Wing
Prepare two matching mallard brest feathers by stripping off the fluff.
Step 7b: The Wing
Tie on the feathers by a few loose wraps of thread, and pull the ends forward until you reach the desired length of the wing. A good rule of thumb is that the length of the body should make up about 2/3 of the wing.
Step 7c: The Wing
From the top it should now look something like this. When satisfied with the length, make a few more wraps of thread to secure the feathers.
Step 7d: The Wing
With your left thumb and index finger, twist/roll together the feathers. The reason for this is to collect the fibers and compress the shape to closer resemble the profile of a caddis.
Step 7e: The Wing
When you are done, it should look something like this.
Step 7f: The Wing
From the side. This may not look too much as a caddis, but in most cases the fish sees the fly from underneath; not from the side.
Step 8: Trim the Waste Ends
Trim of the waste ends of the feathers in a tapered fashion; make sure you not trim off the horns in the process.
Step 9a: The Hackle
Prepare a natural red or brown rooster hackle, and tie in by the tip.
Step 9b: The Hackle
Now to secure all the ends with a layer of adjacent wraps of thread over the whole of the thorax area. Add a tiny drop of superglue to the butt-ends beforehand. (optional)
Step 10: Dub the Thorax
Take a pinch of dubbing and make the thorax, this will also make for a nice bed for the hackle to be wrapped over.
Step 11: Wrap the Hackle and finish off
Make about four wraps of the hackle, secure off, and complete the fly with a few turns of whip-finish.
The "standard" color combination of the Europea-12 makes for a good all-round representation that covers several species of the Trichophtera-kingdom, and the profile of this fly (as seen from below) is often quite superior to other patterns. This does however not mean that this should be the only caddis pattern in your box, but it should definitely be one of them. The hackle might be trimmed on the underside of the fly, or one can take those fibers pointing downward and force them out to the sides.
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All photos are taken by me and shall not be used without permission.