Morning Mist Orange Stimulator Caddis
by @dekasso
Stimulator · Dry fly
Orange glow over a misty dawn lake
A slim orange Stimulator dry fly on a size 12 hook, with a dark elk hair wing, for trout feeding on adult caddis.
An orange Stimulator dry fly with a slim ribbed body and a tall, dark hair wing. The body is orange dubbing wound with gold wire and short ginger hackle, under a wing of dark elk hair.
- Pattern
- Stimulator
- Imitates
- Adult caddis activity
- When
- typically late spring and summer evenings
- Hook
- size 12
- Tippet
- 4Xrule of three
- Slim orange body with gold wire rib
- Dark elk hair wing rides high
- Short palmered ginger hackle
- Sparse brown tail
- Size 12 dry-fly hook
On the water
A thin orange body, banded with gold wire and fuzzed with short ginger hackle. A dark elk hair wing fans up and back like a sail. A sparse brown tail trails behind, and a neat orange head finishes the front.
Fish it where caddis flutter at the edges of riffles, or along still water when the mist is still lifting. Dead-drift it first. Then give it a small twitch so it skitters like an adult laying eggs.
Gold wire is the piece to get right. Wind it forward through the palmered ginger hackle in open turns so it locks every fiber down and keeps the slim body tidy.
Rigging
- Tippet
- 4Xhook size divided by three
- Leader
- Nine feet, tapered — longer and finer in flat water
- Fish on 4X or 5X tippet; the elk hair wing keeps it afloat in choppy water.
- Dead-drift first, then add a short twitch to imitate a skittering caddis.
- Strong enough to suspend a small nymph on a short dropper.
Where and when
- Hatch
- Adult caddis activitytypically late spring and summer evenings
- Target
- Trout
- Water type
- Riffles, pocket water and calm lake edges
- Also fishes
- Also works as a small stonefly or hopper search fly in summer pocket water, and as a dry on a dry-dropper rig.
Make it yourself
Intermediate6 materials · 11 steps
- Pattern
- Stimulator
- Style
- Dry fly
- Hook
- 2XL dry-fly hooksize 12
- Thread
- Orange 8/0
Materials in the order they go on the hook
- TailBrown hackle fibers
- RibGold wire
- BodyOrange dubbing
- HackleGinger saddle hackle
- WingDark elk hair
- HeadOrange dubbing
Details
- Imitates
- Caddisfly adult
- Colors
- Orange, Dark brown, Ginger, Gold
How to tie it
The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (11)
- Mount the hook in the vise and start the orange thread just behind the eye, then wrap back to the bend.
- Tie in a sparse bunch of brown hackle fibers at the bend, about one hook-gap long.
- Tie in a length of gold wire at the bend.
- Dub a thin, even body of orange dubbing forward to about three-quarters of the shank.
- Tie in a ginger saddle hackle by the tip at the front of the body.
- Palmer the hackle back to the bend in open turns, keeping the fibers short.
- Wind the gold wire forward through the hackle in open turns to lock it, and tie off.
- Clean and stack a clump of dark elk hair, then tie it in on top so the tips reach the end of the body.
- Trim the elk hair butts at an angle and cover them with thread.
- Dub a small orange head over the thread wraps in front of the wing.
- Whip finish behind the eye and add a drop of head cement.
Proportions (5)
- Tail: about one hook-gap long, sparse.
- Body: slim and even, covering the rear three-quarters of the shank.
- Body hackle: fibers no longer than the hook gap.
- Wing: tips reach the end of the body or just past the bend.
- Head: compact, about one-quarter of the shank.
Tips (3)
- Dub with very little material at a time to keep the body thin.
- Stack the elk hair well so the tips line up into a clean wing edge.
- Trim a few tail fibers rather than adding more; a light tail sits better on the water.
Common mistakes (4)
- A fat body: twist only a thin pinch of dubbing onto the thread.
- A bushy tail: count out a small bunch of fibers before tying in.
- A loose rib: wind the gold wire in the opposite direction to the hackle so it binds the stem.
- Crowding the eye: leave space for the wing and orange head.
Every kit size
Materials only
Size 12 · Materials only · 12 flies
$52.55
$4.38 a fly
Includes 2XL dry-fly hook · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- 2XL dry-fly hook$6.50
Thread & wire
- Orange 8/0 thread$2.95
- Gold wire$3.25
Materials
- Brown hackle fibers$11.95
- Orange dubbing$4.50
- Ginger saddle hackle$11.95
- Dark elk hair$5.50
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 12 · Materials only · 48 flies
$92.58
$1.93 a fly
Bought separately $97.45 · you save $4.87
Includes 2XL dry-fly hook · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- 2XL dry-fly hook$13
Thread & wire
- Orange 8/0 thread$2.95
- Gold wire$3.25
Materials
- Brown hackle fibers$23.90
- Orange dubbing$13.50
- Ginger saddle hackle$23.90
- Dark elk hair$11
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 12 · Materials only · 144 flies
$229.64
$1.59 a fly
Bought separately $260.95 · you save $31.31
Includes 2XL dry-fly hook · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- 2XL dry-fly hook$35
Thread & wire
- Orange 8/0 thread$8.85
- Gold wire$9.75
Materials
- Brown hackle fibers$71.70
- Orange dubbing$36
- Ginger saddle hackle$71.70
- Dark elk hair$22
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
With vise & tools
Size 12 · With vise & tools · 12 flies
$202.55
$16.88 a fly
Includes 2XL dry-fly hook · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- 2XL dry-fly hook$6.50
Thread & wire
- Orange 8/0 thread$2.95
- Gold wire$3.25
Materials
- Brown hackle fibers$11.95
- Orange dubbing$4.50
- Ginger saddle hackle$11.95
- Dark elk hair$5.50
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 12 · With vise & tools · 48 flies
$235.08
$4.90 a fly
Bought separately $247.45 · you save $12.37
Includes 2XL dry-fly hook · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- 2XL dry-fly hook$13
Thread & wire
- Orange 8/0 thread$2.95
- Gold wire$3.25
Materials
- Brown hackle fibers$23.90
- Orange dubbing$13.50
- Ginger saddle hackle$23.90
- Dark elk hair$11
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 12 · With vise & tools · 144 flies
$361.64
$2.51 a fly
Bought separately $410.95 · you save $49.31
Includes 2XL dry-fly hook · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- 2XL dry-fly hook$35
Thread & wire
- Orange 8/0 thread$8.85
- Gold wire$9.75
Materials
- Brown hackle fibers$71.70
- Orange dubbing$36
- Ginger saddle hackle$71.70
- Dark elk hair$22
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
The creator
How it was made
3 iterations led here; the saved one is marked
1
2
3 Saved
Remixes
Remixed from
- Morning Mist Orange Stimulator Caddisyou are here
No remixes yet — make your own version.
Where this came from
“make the body thinner... and the tail less bushy”
fly pattern · made
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- stimulator
- caddis
- dry fly
- orange
- elk hair
- trout
- gold wire
- ginger hackle