Sagebrush Tan Elk Hair Caddis
by @dekasso
Elk Hair Caddis · Dry fly
Dry sage, low sun, caddis on the water
A tan Elk Hair Caddis dry fly on a size 14 hook, with a hair tail and palmered brown hackle, for trout rising to adult caddis.
An Elk Hair Caddis dry fly with a long tan hair tail, a ribbed body and a flared elk hair head. It is tied in natural tan elk hair, tan dubbing, brown palmered hackle and a fine gold wire rib.
- Pattern
- Elk Hair Caddis
- Imitates
- Adult caddis hatches and egg-laying flights, typically late spring through summer evenings
- Hook
- size 14
- Tippet
- 5Xrule of three
- Natural elk hair wing and tail
- Brown hackle palmered over tan body
- Gold wire rib protects the hackle
- Flared elk butts form the head
- Size 14 dry-fly hook
On the water
Tan elk hair sweeps back over a fuzzy tan body, and a brown hackle runs the length of it in open turns. Fine gold wire ribs the dubbing and catches the light. Up front, the clipped butts flare into a neat, bristly head.
Drop it into riffles and the seams behind boulders on a summer evening when caddis are popping off the water. Let it drift dead, then give it a small twitch or skate it on the swing to copy a laying female. The hair wing and hackle keep it riding high in broken current.
Stacking the elk hair is the step to get right. Even tips give the wing a clean silhouette, and two soft wraps before you cinch down let the hair flare without spinning around the shank.
Rigging
- Tippet
- 5Xhook size divided by three
- Leader
- Nine feet, tapered — longer and finer in flat water
- Rig on 4X to 5X tippet; go lighter on flat, clear water.
- Fish it dead drift first, then add a gentle twitch or swing it across at the end of the drift.
- Dress the wing with floatant before the first cast and false cast to dry it between drifts.
Where and when
- Water
- Deschutes River, Central Oregon
- Hatch
- Adult caddis hatches and egg-laying flights, typically late spring through summer evenings
- Target
- Rainbow trout, Brown trout
- Water type
- Riffles, pocket water and broken runs on freestone rivers
- Also fishes
- Also fishes well as a skated fly on the swing, as a high-floating indicator above a small dropper nymph, and on slower pools at dusk.
Also on this water
- SalmonflyMay–Jun
- CaddisJun–Sep
- October CaddisSep–Oct
Fished out of Maupin and Warm Springs.
Make it yourself
Beginner6 materials · 11 steps
- Pattern
- Elk Hair Caddis
- Style
- Dry fly
- Hook
- Dry-fly hooksize 14
- Thread
- Tan 8/0
Materials in the order they go on the hook
- TailNatural elk hair
- RibFine gold wire
- BodyTan dubbing
- HackleBrown dry-fly hackle, palmered
- WingNatural cow elk hair
- HeadTrimmed elk hair butts
Details
- Imitates
- Adult caddisfly
- Colors
- Tan, Brown, Gold
How to tie it
The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (11)
- Mount the size 14 dry-fly hook in the vise and start the tan 8/0 thread behind the eye, laying a smooth base back to the bend.
- Clean and stack a small bunch of natural elk hair and tie it in at the bend as a tail roughly one shank length long.
- Tie in the fine gold wire at the bend, binding it along the top of the shank.
- Size a brown dry-fly hackle with fibres about one and a half times the hook gap, and tie it in by the butt at the bend.
- Dub a slim tan body forward, tapering slightly thicker toward the front, and stop two eye-lengths behind the eye.
- Palmer the hackle forward in five or six open turns, tie it off at the front of the body and trim the tip.
- Counter-wrap the gold wire forward through the hackle so it locks the stem down, then tie it off and trim.
- Clean and stack a bunch of cow elk hair and measure it so the tips reach just past the bend.
- Hold the wing on top of the shank, take two loose wraps, then pull down firmly to flare the hair; add a few more tight wraps.
- Trim the elk butts square, leaving a short flared head ahead of the tie-in wraps.
- Whip finish over the wing tie-in wraps behind the head and add a touch of cement to the thread.
Proportions (5)
- Tail: about one hook shank length of stacked elk hair.
- Body: occupies the rear three quarters of the shank, slim with a gentle taper.
- Hackle: fibres about one and a half times the hook gap, palmered in open turns.
- Wing: tips reach just past the bend, lying low over the body.
- Head: clipped butts about one eye-length long, trimmed square.
Tips (4)
- Use cow elk hair with fine tips and a hollow base so it flares cleanly and floats well.
- Remove underfur with a fine comb before stacking; it keeps the wing from looking bulky.
- Wrap the wire in the opposite direction to the hackle so each turn crosses and protects the stem.
- Keep the dubbing thin; a fat body soaks water and makes the fly ride low.
Common mistakes (4)
- Wing spins around the shank: take two soft wraps first and hold the hair firmly on top as you tighten.
- Crowded eye: stop the body two eye-lengths back to leave room for the wing and head.
- Uneven wing tips: stack the hair properly and tap firmly before measuring.
- Loose hackle after a few fish: always counter-wrap the gold wire through the palmered turns.
Every kit size
Materials only
Size 14 · Materials only · 12 flies
$51.60
$4.30 a fly
Includes Dry-fly hook · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 10 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry-fly hook$6.50
Thread & wire
- Tan 8/0 thread$2.95
- Fine gold wire$3.25
Materials
- Natural elk hair$5.50
- Tan dubbing$4.50
- Brown dry-fly hackle, palmered$11.95
- Natural cow elk hair$5.50
- Trimmed elk hair butts$5.50
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 14 · Materials only · 48 flies
$86.50
$1.80 a fly
Bought separately $91.05 · you save $4.55
Includes Dry-fly hook · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 10 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry-fly hook$13
Thread & wire
- Tan 8/0 thread$2.95
- Fine gold wire$3.25
Materials
- Natural elk hair$11
- Tan dubbing$9
- Brown dry-fly hackle, palmered$23.90
- Natural cow elk hair$11
- Trimmed elk hair butts$11
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 14 · Materials only · 144 flies
$189.42
$1.32 a fly
Bought separately $215.25 · you save $25.83
Includes Dry-fly hook · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 10 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry-fly hook$35
Thread & wire
- Tan 8/0 thread$8.85
- Fine gold wire$9.75
Materials
- Natural elk hair$22
- Tan dubbing$18
- Brown dry-fly hackle, palmered$71.70
- Natural cow elk hair$22
- Trimmed elk hair butts$22
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
With vise & tools
Size 14 · With vise & tools · 12 flies
$201.60
$16.80 a fly
Includes Dry-fly hook · and 18 more
Every item in this kit · 19 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry-fly hook$6.50
Thread & wire
- Tan 8/0 thread$2.95
- Fine gold wire$3.25
Materials
- Natural elk hair$5.50
- Tan dubbing$4.50
- Brown dry-fly hackle, palmered$11.95
- Natural cow elk hair$5.50
- Trimmed elk hair butts$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 14 · With vise & tools · 48 flies
$229
$4.77 a fly
Bought separately $241.05 · you save $12.05
Includes Dry-fly hook · and 18 more
Every item in this kit · 19 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry-fly hook$13
Thread & wire
- Tan 8/0 thread$2.95
- Fine gold wire$3.25
Materials
- Natural elk hair$11
- Tan dubbing$9
- Brown dry-fly hackle, palmered$23.90
- Natural cow elk hair$11
- Trimmed elk hair butts$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 14 · With vise & tools · 144 flies
$321.42
$2.23 a fly
Bought separately $365.25 · you save $43.83
Includes Dry-fly hook · and 18 more
Every item in this kit · 19 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry-fly hook$35
Thread & wire
- Tan 8/0 thread$8.85
- Fine gold wire$9.75
Materials
- Natural elk hair$22
- Tan dubbing$18
- Brown dry-fly hackle, palmered$71.70
- Natural cow elk hair$22
- Trimmed elk hair butts$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
Remixes
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Where this came from
fly pattern · made
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- elk hair caddis
- caddis
- dry fly
- trout fly
- tan
- elk hair
- palmered hackle
- gold wire
- freestone river
- summer evening
- size 14