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The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning

The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning

Dry

Elk Hair Caddis

Insect Species Icon Caddis, Little Black Caddis, October Caddis and 6 others
Difficulty Icon Easy - 3-5 Min
Water Category Icon Coldwater

Tying Video

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Tying Recipe
  • Hook: Straight shank, straight eye, dry fly hook
  • Thread: Tan or Cream UTC 70
  • Body: Superfine Olive Dubbing
  • Rib: Extra-small gold wire
  • Legs/Hackle: Brown or Dark Barred Ginger Whiting Rooster Cape
  • Tent Wings: Natural or Bleached Elk Hair

The Elk Hair Caddis is a relatively simple pattern that doesn’t hold many opportunities for substitutions. This being said, the Elk Hair Caddis is an excellent pattern to bridge the gap into tying dry flies as it utilizes the dry fly basics you will need for other patterns like the Stimulator and Parachute Adams. Here are some substitution ideas:

  • Dubbing: Tie in some ice dubbing to really spice things up in this fly
  • Hackle: Try using Whiting High & Dry, CDL, and Herbert/Miner dry fly hackles from Whiting farms to get the exact float you desire. Be sure to vary the color of your dubbing and hackle together to better imitate the desired insect.
  • Tent Wings: Calf hair can create excellent caddisflies too.

The Elk Hair Caddis contains some variation opportunities that really bring this fly to life. While these variations are simple in nature, they make a big difference in how the fly fishes and can really separate your fly from the hoards of store-bought patterns.

  • Tent Wings: Tie in some dyed elk hair to really match your hatch. Black-dyed hair can imitate those dark stones really well while lighter dye colors can imitate those caddisflies or small stoneflies well.
  • Sparkle Wing: Adding just a little bit of krystal flash below your elk hair is an excellent way to really invoke the aggressive nature of those brown trout.
  • Color: Vary the color of the pieces of this fly together as a unit to really imitate the desired insect well.

The Elk Hair Caddis is truly one of the best flies ever invented. In addition to fishing really well, the Elk Hair Caddis is a great fly to get into tying dry flies; it contains a lot of the basics an angler should know to get into tying the tougher dry fly patterns. The Elk Hair Caddis imitates the classic tent-wing shape of the caddisfly very well, while also imitating several stonefly species, making this fly a spectacular selection for the summer times when the hatch is on. The hackle on this fly acts as legs, but also provides several points for the fly to distribute its weight on the surface of the water, increasing its floatability. The Elk Hair Caddis is a killer fly that is easy to tie; every angler should have this in their fly box.

The key aspect to fishing the Elk Hair Caddis is keeping this little buggy guy on the surface. Keep this fly up on the surface by using ample liquid floatant at the start of your day. Applying your floatant and allowing it to dry/soak into your fly for 15 minutes before fishing will produce the best results. Later in the, your fly will inevitably begin taking on water and sinking; using Dry Shake in this situation will really keep your fly fishing well. If you are using the Elk Hair Caddis in a dry/dropper rig, be sure to pick a dropper that is of appropriate size and weight to allow your Elk Hair Caddis to float the dropper effectively.

Caddis

General Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Caddis
Sizes: #10 - #22

Golden Stonefly

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West
Golden Stonefly
Sizes: #8 - #16
Region: Northwest
Golden Stonefly
Sizes: #8 - #16
Region: East
Golden Stonefly
Sizes: #8 - #16
Region: Midwest
Golden Stonefly
Sizes: #8 - #16

Green Stone

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, Midwest
Green Stone
Sizes: #12 - #18

Helgrammite

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East, Southeast, Midwest
Helgrammite
Sizes: #12 - #14

Little Black Caddis

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West
Little Black Caddis
Sizes: #14 - #20
Region: Northwest
Little Black Caddis
Sizes: #14 - #20
Region: East, Midwest
Little Black Caddis
Sizes: #14 - #20
Region: Southeast
Little Black Caddis
Sizes: #14 - #20

Little Black Stone

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, East
Little Black Stone
Sizes: #14 - #20
Region: Midwest
Little Black Stone
Sizes: #14 - #20

October Caddis

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, East
October Caddis
Sizes: #8 - #12

Skwala Stone

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest
Skwala Stone
Sizes: #12 - #16

Yellow Sally

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Midwest
Yellow Sally
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: Northwest
Yellow Sally
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: East, Southeast
Yellow Sally
Sizes: #12 - #18

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