Elk Hair Caddis Orange
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Fly of the Month 01.11 Elk Hair Caddis
This “fly of the month” represents the latest in the Tim Wilhelm/Tom Adams series and one that I
suspect most have used in North Carolina waters.
What can one say about a true Classic? The Elk Hair Caddis dry fly achieved widespread fame at least 30 years ago. But, it's been fished for even longer than that. It is one of the dry flies that consistently makes "The 10 Flies You Must Have" list. It is probably the best known, most ubiquitously available, and uniquely adaptable caddis dry fly pattern on the market. There have
been articles which have dubbed it the "ultimate" or the "perfect" dry fly. Despite the occasional over-the-top descriptors, there is no question as to the fly's success and utility. And to think, the designer originally intended it, not as a dry fly, but as a wet fly.
Having been a schoolteacher in Pennsylvania, Al Troth became known as a guide, outfitter, and professional flytier after moving to Dillon, Montana. Although he produced a number of patterns which achieved a certain level of commercial recognition and success (e.g., Troth Bullhead,
Terrible Troth Stone, and Troth Salmon Fly), it was the Elk Hair Caddis which secured his place in the annals of flyfishing.
In a 1978 article (Al Troth, "Elk Hair Caddis," Fly Tyer, November 1978), Troth stated that, years before, his desire had been to develop a wet fly for the Green Caddis hatch in Pennsylvania. (Troth does not mention how many years before in his article, but Randall Kaufmann, a famous fly designer/tier in his own right, claims in his book "Tying Dry Flies" (Revised Edition, 1995) that the year was 1957.) Experimenting on Pennsylvania's Loyalsock Creek, he discovered that his "wet fly" didn't sink, but "floated like a cork." Trying to force the fly under, he pulled the fly
line, the fly sank, immediately popped back up, and seconds later a trout took the fly off the surface. A "dry fly" was born. In the same article, Al Troth attributed the success of the fly, primarily, to four things: 1.) it represents an aquatic insect found throughout the U.S., (2.) the fly offers a small silhouette for the hook size, (3.) the fly is easy to see and may be cast accurately, (4.) the floating properties and durability of elk hair.
True enough as far as it goes. In my opinion, there are also other factors which contribute to the fly's success. Even though it is an "attractor" fly, rather than an exact "imitation," it presents a lifelike impression of a fluttering caddis. It is readily adaptable in terms of body, hackle, and hair color which allow it to be "tied" to emulate the particular species in a given area. And, it is exceptionally easy to produce; being one of the first patterns aspiring tiers learn. The Elk Hair Caddis dry fly is simply one of those "must have," "go to," "why don't you have one," type of flies. It's a fly that is nearly 50 years old and sells as well today as it did almost 30 years ago. It works from the Lower Sacramento River in California to the Yellowstone River in Montana and from the Guadalupe River in Texas to the Metolious River in Oregon. It has caught 107 brookies in a single day in Pennsylvania for its creator and it has served me well throughout the West.
Fly of the Month 01.11 Elk Hair Caddis
Hook: Dry Fly, standard length, Tiemco 100 or equivalent, Size: 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22
Thread: 8/0 Uni or equivalent to match color
Body: Dry dubbing
Wing: Elk Hair, natural
Ribbing: Fine Gold Wire
Hackle: Dry Rooster in color to match
Directions:
1) Wrap tight beginning three eyelengths back from the eye to the bend above the barb and tie in the Fine Gold Wire. Tie on top and stop thread at the bend above the barb.
2) Dub sparingly with a fine dry dubbing. Color can be yellow, green, brown, tan, grey, or black. Thread should match the dub color. Stop the dub about four eyelengths back from the eye and let the bobbin hang.
3) Select appropriate rooster dry fly hackle (approx. 1 ½ times the hook gape) stripping a short section of barbs and tie in at the head side of the dub. Secure with two or three wraps and trim any access. The concave or dull side should be facing the hook bend. Let the bobbin hang.
4) Wrap the hackle to the hook bend ( three or four wraps ) and holding the hackle tip with your left hand, bind the hackle to the hook with the gold thread. After one wrap the hackle can be released (keeping pressure on the hackle with the wire) and the wire can be “wiggled” through the hackle wraps advancing to the tie in point of the hackle. The wire should be tied in with the thread and excess broken off after securing. Let the bobbin hang.
5) Trim the excess hackle at the rear of the fly.
6) Using scissors, trim the topmost portion of the hackle. The makes for a neater and more flush wing.
7) Collect a portion of Elk Hair by trimming as close to the hide as possible. This is the wing and the amount is dictated by the size desired for the wing. You will need a little extra in the cut, because some will fall away and some is not suitable.
8) Clean the hair of the fine under hair. You can use a cleaning rake or I hold the hair in between my left forefinger and thumb by the tips and keeping pressure use a bodkin to clean out the fibers. The cleaner the better. Once cleaned, put the hair in tip first into a hair stacker. Rap several times. I usually hold the aligning tube off of the receiver bottom by an eighth of an inch or so. By doing so, when I extract the tube with the aligned hair, the tips are protruding and can be grasped more easily.
9) Tie in the wing immediately in front of the dubbing. I usually make several wraps before tightening too much to check position and length. The wraps are tight and close together . Once secure, trim the excess hair with one cut at a forty five degree. Make sure there is sufficient access to tie the fly on.
This fly pattern is available for purchase or easily tied in a number of different body colors which represent any caddis species and small adult stoneflies including Green Elk Hair Caddis, Orange Elk Hair Caddis, Tan Elk Hair Caddis, Peacock Elk Hair Caddis, Black Elk Hair Caddis and Brown Elk Hair Caddis.
- Tom Adams, Tim Wilhelm
This “fly of the month” represents the latest in the Tim Wilhelm/Tom Adams series and one that I
suspect most have used in North Carolina waters.
What can one say about a true Classic? The Elk Hair Caddis dry fly achieved widespread fame at least 30 years ago. But, it's been fished for even longer than that. It is one of the dry flies that consistently makes "The 10 Flies You Must Have" list. It is probably the best known, most ubiquitously available, and uniquely adaptable caddis dry fly pattern on the market. There have
been articles which have dubbed it the "ultimate" or the "perfect" dry fly. Despite the occasional over-the-top descriptors, there is no question as to the fly's success and utility. And to think, the designer originally intended it, not as a dry fly, but as a wet fly.
Having been a schoolteacher in Pennsylvania, Al Troth became known as a guide, outfitter, and professional flytier after moving to Dillon, Montana. Although he produced a number of patterns which achieved a certain level of commercial recognition and success (e.g., Troth Bullhead,
Terrible Troth Stone, and Troth Salmon Fly), it was the Elk Hair Caddis which secured his place in the annals of flyfishing.
In a 1978 article (Al Troth, "Elk Hair Caddis," Fly Tyer, November 1978), Troth stated that, years before, his desire had been to develop a wet fly for the Green Caddis hatch in Pennsylvania. (Troth does not mention how many years before in his article, but Randall Kaufmann, a famous fly designer/tier in his own right, claims in his book "Tying Dry Flies" (Revised Edition, 1995) that the year was 1957.) Experimenting on Pennsylvania's Loyalsock Creek, he discovered that his "wet fly" didn't sink, but "floated like a cork." Trying to force the fly under, he pulled the fly
line, the fly sank, immediately popped back up, and seconds later a trout took the fly off the surface. A "dry fly" was born. In the same article, Al Troth attributed the success of the fly, primarily, to four things: 1.) it represents an aquatic insect found throughout the U.S., (2.) the fly offers a small silhouette for the hook size, (3.) the fly is easy to see and may be cast accurately, (4.) the floating properties and durability of elk hair.
True enough as far as it goes. In my opinion, there are also other factors which contribute to the fly's success. Even though it is an "attractor" fly, rather than an exact "imitation," it presents a lifelike impression of a fluttering caddis. It is readily adaptable in terms of body, hackle, and hair color which allow it to be "tied" to emulate the particular species in a given area. And, it is exceptionally easy to produce; being one of the first patterns aspiring tiers learn. The Elk Hair Caddis dry fly is simply one of those "must have," "go to," "why don't you have one," type of flies. It's a fly that is nearly 50 years old and sells as well today as it did almost 30 years ago. It works from the Lower Sacramento River in California to the Yellowstone River in Montana and from the Guadalupe River in Texas to the Metolious River in Oregon. It has caught 107 brookies in a single day in Pennsylvania for its creator and it has served me well throughout the West.
Fly of the Month 01.11 Elk Hair Caddis
Hook: Dry Fly, standard length, Tiemco 100 or equivalent, Size: 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22
Thread: 8/0 Uni or equivalent to match color
Body: Dry dubbing
Wing: Elk Hair, natural
Ribbing: Fine Gold Wire
Hackle: Dry Rooster in color to match
Directions:
1) Wrap tight beginning three eyelengths back from the eye to the bend above the barb and tie in the Fine Gold Wire. Tie on top and stop thread at the bend above the barb.
2) Dub sparingly with a fine dry dubbing. Color can be yellow, green, brown, tan, grey, or black. Thread should match the dub color. Stop the dub about four eyelengths back from the eye and let the bobbin hang.
3) Select appropriate rooster dry fly hackle (approx. 1 ½ times the hook gape) stripping a short section of barbs and tie in at the head side of the dub. Secure with two or three wraps and trim any access. The concave or dull side should be facing the hook bend. Let the bobbin hang.
4) Wrap the hackle to the hook bend ( three or four wraps ) and holding the hackle tip with your left hand, bind the hackle to the hook with the gold thread. After one wrap the hackle can be released (keeping pressure on the hackle with the wire) and the wire can be “wiggled” through the hackle wraps advancing to the tie in point of the hackle. The wire should be tied in with the thread and excess broken off after securing. Let the bobbin hang.
5) Trim the excess hackle at the rear of the fly.
6) Using scissors, trim the topmost portion of the hackle. The makes for a neater and more flush wing.
7) Collect a portion of Elk Hair by trimming as close to the hide as possible. This is the wing and the amount is dictated by the size desired for the wing. You will need a little extra in the cut, because some will fall away and some is not suitable.
8) Clean the hair of the fine under hair. You can use a cleaning rake or I hold the hair in between my left forefinger and thumb by the tips and keeping pressure use a bodkin to clean out the fibers. The cleaner the better. Once cleaned, put the hair in tip first into a hair stacker. Rap several times. I usually hold the aligning tube off of the receiver bottom by an eighth of an inch or so. By doing so, when I extract the tube with the aligned hair, the tips are protruding and can be grasped more easily.
9) Tie in the wing immediately in front of the dubbing. I usually make several wraps before tightening too much to check position and length. The wraps are tight and close together . Once secure, trim the excess hair with one cut at a forty five degree. Make sure there is sufficient access to tie the fly on.
This fly pattern is available for purchase or easily tied in a number of different body colors which represent any caddis species and small adult stoneflies including Green Elk Hair Caddis, Orange Elk Hair Caddis, Tan Elk Hair Caddis, Peacock Elk Hair Caddis, Black Elk Hair Caddis and Brown Elk Hair Caddis.
- Tom Adams, Tim Wilhelm