Salmonfly Hatch Trout Trucker Hat

Two trout, one fly, one second left.

A realistic underwater scene of a salmonfly on the surface and two trout rising, in river green, rosy pink and rust, for days on the water.

A salmonfly rests on the surface while a brown trout and a rainbow trout rise beneath it, jaws open. The scene is coloured in river green and deep teal water, rosy pink and golden brown fish, and a rust-bodied fly with smoke grey wings.

Salmonfly resting on the surface film
Brown trout and rainbow trout rising
River green water with deep teal surface
Rosy pink stripe on the rainbow
Smoke grey wings with black veins

The cap

One design, four caps. The front panel is what the paint or the dye sits on, so it changes the hat.

Trucker
The house cap — structured mid profile, foam-and-mesh back, snapback.
Specs
Profile
Mid profile
Build
6-panel · Structured — buckram behind the front
Crown
3½ in (8.9 cm)
Visor
Pre-curved, 2¾ in (7 cm)
Closure
Snapback
Adjusts to
21½–24 in (54.5–61 cm)
Airbrushed on
Natural cotton twill
Sublimated on
White polyester foam
Rope cap
Structured five-panel with a near-flat brim and a cord across it.
Specs
Profile
Mid-high profile
Build
5-panel · Structured
Crown
4 in (10.2 cm)
Visor
Near-flat, 2⅞ in (7.3 cm), contrast rope
Closure
Snapback
Adjusts to
21½–23¾ in (54.5–60.5 cm)
Airbrushed on
Stone cotton twill
Sublimated on
White polyester twill
Dad hat
Soft, low and unstructured — washed cotton with a strap back.
Specs
Profile
Low profile
Build
6-panel · Unstructured — soft front
Crown
3¼ in (8.3 cm)
Visor
Curved, 2¾ in (7 cm)
Closure
Strap back, brass buckle
Adjusts to
21–23½ in (53.5–59.5 cm)
Airbrushed on
Washed khaki cotton
Sublimated on
White polyester twill
Five-panel camp
Flat brim, low crown, packs flat in a vest pocket.
Specs
Profile
Low profile
Build
5-panel · Unstructured
Crown
3¼ in (8.3 cm)
Visor
Flat, 2½ in (6.4 cm)
Closure
Strap back, side-release clip
Adjusts to
21½–23½ in (54.5–59.5 cm)
Airbrushed on
Field olive nylon-cotton
Sublimated on
White polyester

Fit

A cloth tape measure around the crown of a blank cap

Cap	Profile	Crown height	Visor	Adjusts to
Trucker	Mid profile	3½ in (8.9 cm)	Pre-curved, 2¾ in (7 cm)	21½–24 in (54.5–61 cm)
Rope cap	Mid-high profile	4 in (10.2 cm)	Near-flat, 2⅞ in (7.3 cm), contrast rope	21½–23¾ in (54.5–60.5 cm)
Dad hat	Low profile	3¼ in (8.3 cm)	Curved, 2¾ in (7 cm)	21–23½ in (53.5–59.5 cm)
Five-panel camp	Low profile	3¼ in (8.3 cm)	Flat, 2½ in (6.4 cm)	21½–23½ in (54.5–59.5 cm)

One size per cap. Run a tape around your head just above the ears, keeping it level — anything inside the range above will close on it.

Two finishes

The same design, made two ways. Pick one in the panel; the cap and the quantity are yours to choose too.

Hand airbrushed
$85 for one hat, on a trucker
Painted to order — would ship in about 2 weeks
How it is made
How it is made
Sprayed by hand through this design's own stencils, one layer at a time, each left to dry before the next mask goes down.
How it looks
Soft gradients and hand-cut stencil edges. Every cap is a little different.
What it sits on
On a natural cotton twill front.
Durability and care
Water-based paint, heat set and sealed. It takes rain and a season on a boat; spot clean with cool water, never a washing machine.
Sublimation printed
$32 for one hat, on a trucker
Printed to order — would ship in 5–7 business days
How it is made
How it is made
The design is printed in dye onto transfer paper, then pressed with heat so the dye soaks into the polyester fibres.
How it looks
Full colour edge to edge, and identical every time.
What it sits on
On a white polyester foam front — sublimation only takes on white polyester.
Durability and care
The dye is in the fibre, not on it, so it will not crack or peel. Gentle wash, air dry.

The artwork

A salmonfly sits on the skin of the water, rust body, smoke grey wings, legs splayed. Below, a brown trout drifts in from the left and a rainbow trout comes up hard from the right, mouth open, pink stripe flashing. Bubbles bead along the surface line.

It reads from across a gravel bar: green water, a bright pink flank, a dark bug on top. Wear it to the river during the big hatch, or to the shop when you want to talk about it.

Wing veins in fine black over smoke grey make or break the salmonfly. Lay the grey soft, then trace the veins with a low-pressure line so the wings look thin enough to see water through.

What arrives

The hat
A care card
On a hand airbrushed hat, a numbered tag naming the water it was painted from, when the design names one

A cap being spot-cleaned with a soft brush

Looking after it

Hand airbrushed

Spot clean with cool water and a soft brush. Never a washing machine.
Keep it out of a hot car for long stretches — heat-set paint is tough, but a dashboard in July is not a test worth running.
Reshape the brim by hand while damp.

Sublimation printed

Spot clean, or gently hand wash in cool water. No bleach.
Air dry. Do not iron the print.
Reshape the brim by hand while damp.
The dye is in the fibre, so the print will not crack or peel.

Details

Airbrush palette

Colours: river green, deep teal, white, golden brown, olive, rosy pink, rust, smoke grey, black

Details

Subject: salmonfly with brown trout and rainbow trout
Style: realistic underwater scene

Make it yourself

A hat-painting bench with a blank cap, stencils and an airbrush

AdvancedAbout 4½ hours at the bench, plus curing10 layersYou'll need an airbrush, a cap jig and 9 colours

The palette

River green
Deep teal
White
Golden brown
Olive
Rosy pink
Rust
Smoke grey
Black

The layers

10 layers, in this order. Each mask comes off and the paint has to dry before the next one goes down.

Water
Surface
Bubbles
Brown trout
Rainbow back
Rainbow band
Salmonfly body
Wings
Detail
Highlights

The kit's stencil set is cut from these layers; with the cutter (12 hats and up) you cut your own from this design's layer files.

How to mix each colour

River green
1 part yellow to 1 part blue; more yellow for a warm green, more blue for a cool one
Deep teal
2 parts blue, 1 part green, a touch of white to lift it
White
Opaque white from the bottle; two thin coats cover better than one thick one
Golden brown
Equal parts red, yellow and blue, then a drop of black to deepen it; or burnt umber straight from the bottle
Olive
2 parts yellow, 1 part black, a drop of red to warm it
Rosy pink
1 part red to 4 parts white, a drop of blue if it looks salmon
Rust
2 parts orange, 1 part brown, a drop of red
Smoke grey
4 parts white, 1 part black; a drop of blue for cool grey, a drop of brown for warm stone
Black
Black from the bottle, sprayed in light passes; a heavy coat bleeds

Setup

Ventilation or a spray booth. Water-based paint still throws a fine mist, and you will be breathing it for hours.
A half-mask respirator rated for paint mists. A dust mask is not one.
A compressor with a moisture trap, set and tested on a card before you start: wet air spits water into the paint.
Reducer and a cleaning pot within reach, so a clog is a ten-second fix instead of a ruined panel.
Spray a test card for every colour before it touches the cap. Colour reads differently wet, dry and on twill.

Prep

Lint-roll the front panel. Every fibre left on it prints as a speck in the paint.
Mask the mesh, any seams you want clean and the whole visor, underside included, with low-tack tape and paper.
Stretch the crown over the cap jig so the front panel is taut and curved the way it will be worn. Spraying a slack panel flat distorts the design when it is worn.
Spray one light coat of transparent base so the colour sits on the fabric instead of soaking into it.

Layer by layer

1 · Water — 0.5 mm · 25–30 PSI
river green — a deep underwater fade, darkest toward the bottom edge
Mask None on the panel itself: the mesh and the visor are already masked from the prep.
Colour River green — 1 part yellow to 1 part blue; more yellow for a warm green, more blue for a cool one
Needle
0.5 mm (a 0.35 mm works, it just takes longer)
Pressure
25–30 PSI
Distance
6–8 in from the panel
Passes
3–4 light passes, building the colour
Dry
10 minutes, or 60–90 seconds with a heat gun on low, before the next mask goes down
Tip Fade wet to dry and never lay one heavy coat: twill wicks paint sideways and the edge blooms.
2 · Surface — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
deep teal — a wavy surface line across the top with a lighter band above it
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Deep teal — 2 parts blue, 1 part green, a touch of white to lift it
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
3 · Bubbles — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
white — beads and splash along the surface and trailing from the rainbow's mouth
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour White — Opaque white from the bottle; two thin coats cover better than one thick one
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
4 · Brown trout — 0.3 mm · 18–22 PSI
golden brown — the left fish, body and fins angled toward the fly
Mask The hand-cut subject stencil, inner pieces first, then the outline piece.
Colour Golden brown — Equal parts red, yellow and blue, then a drop of black to deepen it; or burnt umber straight from the bottle
Needle
0.3 mm
Pressure
18–22 PSI
Distance
3–4 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes per tone, light to dark
Dry
10 minutes between tones
Tip Light tones first: a light colour over a dark one needs many coats, a dark one over a light one needs two.
5 · Rainbow back — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
olive — the back and upper flank of the rising right fish
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Olive — 2 parts yellow, 1 part black, a drop of red to warm it
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
6 · Rainbow band — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
rosy pink — the lateral stripe and gill plate of the rainbow
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Rosy pink — 1 part red to 4 parts white, a drop of blue if it looks salmon
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
7 · Salmonfly body — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
rust — the segmented abdomen and thorax resting on the surface
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Rust — 2 parts orange, 1 part brown, a drop of red
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
8 · Wings — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
smoke grey — the veined, folded wings of the salmonfly
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Smoke grey — 4 parts white, 1 part black; a drop of blue for cool grey, a drop of brown for warm stone
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
9 · Detail — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
black — trout spots, insect legs, antennae, eyes and wing veins
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Black — Black from the bottle, sprayed in light passes; a heavy coat bleeds
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
10 · Highlights — 0.2–0.3 mm · 12–15 PSI
white — glints on the eyes, bellies and water
Mask None: freehand, with a shield card held against any hard edge.
Colour White — Opaque white from the bottle; two thin coats cover better than one thick one
Needle
0.2–0.3 mm
Pressure
12–15 PSI
Distance
1–2 in from the panel
Passes
Freehand, in short controlled strokes
Dry
10 minutes, then check it before you cure
Tip Low pressure, close in and moving: stop the stroke before you release the trigger.

Step by step

Mask the full design oval. Fade river green top to bottom, darkest low. Starting point: 20 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 15 cm distance.
Cut a wavy surface mask. Spray deep teal along the line, lighter above it. Starting point: 18 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 10 cm.
Mask the brown trout silhouette. Lay golden brown, deeper on the back. Starting point: 18 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 8 cm.
Mask the rainbow silhouette. Spray olive on the back and upper flank. Starting point: 18 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 8 cm.
Use a stripe mask on the rainbow. Mist rosy pink along the lateral band and gill plate. Starting point: 15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 6 cm.
Mask the salmonfly body. Spray rust on the segmented abdomen and thorax. Starting point: 15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 5 cm.
Mask the wings. Lay smoke grey thin and even. Starting point: 12 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 6 cm.
Freehand or fine-mask black for trout spots, insect legs, antennae, eyes and wing veins. Starting point: 10 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 2–3 cm.
Dot white for bubbles, eye glints and belly highlights. Starting point: 10 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 3 cm.
Let every layer dry before the next. Cure fully, then seal as your paint's label directs.

Cure

Heat set at 300°F / 150°C. Water-based textile paint is not wash-fast until it is heat set.
Cap press: 3–5 minutes with a teflon sheet over the design.
Or heat gun: 2–3 minutes per panel, keeping it moving 2–3 in off the fabric so it does not scorch.
If you have neither, air cure for 72 hours before the cap touches water.

Seal

Two light coats of matte fabric sealer, UV-resistant, from 8–10 in, 15 minutes apart.
Leave it 24 hours before the cap is worn.
Never a gloss sealer on cotton twill: it shines, cracks along the creases and looks like a sticker.

Clean-up

Flush the brush with water, then airbrush cleaner, until it sprays clear.
Strip the needle and wipe it toward the tip, never away from it.
Never soak the brush body overnight.

Common mistakes

Heavy grey on the wings turns them solid. Mist it, and let the water show through.
Black spots that blur into blobs: drop pressure and get closer before spraying.
Pink overspray onto the green water. Mask the rainbow edge tight before the stripe.
Rushing layers lifts masks. Wait until each coat is dry to the touch.

Tips

Keep the brown trout slightly softer than the rainbow so the rising fish reads closest.
Spray the rosy pink over olive in light passes; it should glow, not cover.
Segment the salmonfly body with thin black bands after the rust dries.
Vary bubble sizes along the surface so the line looks alive.

An airbrush, compressor, moisture trap, six colour bottles and a cleaning pot. — The kit

Every kit size

Trucker · kit for 1 hat

$229

Bought separately $255 · you save $26

Includes Starter airbrush set · Cap jig · and 7 more

Every item in this kit · 9 items

Blanks

Trucker blank, natural cotton twill front$91

Stencils

Pre-cut mylar stencil set for this design — 10 layers$181

Paint & masks

Water-based textile airbrush colour, 2 oz — one per colour in this design$482 oz × 8
Transparent base and reducer, 4 oz$71
Low-tack masking film and ¼ in tape$81
Matte fabric sealer, 4 oz$121

Equipment

Starter airbrush set — 0.3 mm dual-action gravity brush, mini compressor, braided hose$1291
Cap jig — holds the crown taut while you spray$241

Guide

Printed step-by-step guide for this designIncluded1

Trucker · kit for 12 hats

$1,085

$90.42 a hat

Bought separately $1,234 · you save $149

Includes Dual-action gravity-feed airbrush · Quiet compressor with tank and moisture trap · Cap jig and two spare crown forms · Tabletop spray booth with exhaust fan · and 11 more

Every item in this kit · 15 items

Blanks

Trucker blank, natural cotton twill front$7812

Stencils

Desktop stencil cutter, 12 in — the "stencil printer": cuts mylar from this design's layer files$2991
Stencil mylar, 7 mil, 12 × 12 in$2210 sheets
This design's layer files, every layer (SVG)Included1

Paint & masks

Water-based textile airbrush colour, 4 oz — one per colour in this design$1124 oz × 8
Transparent base and reducer, 16 oz$161
Low-tack masking film$181 roll
Matte fabric sealer, 16 oz$281

Equipment

Dual-action gravity-feed airbrush, 0.3 mm$1351
Quiet compressor with tank and moisture trap$1791
Cap jig and two spare crown forms$641
Tabletop spray booth with exhaust fan$1491
Cleaning pot, brushes and a half-mask respirator$991
Heat gun for curing$351

Guide

Printed step-by-step guide for this designIncluded1

Trucker · kit for 12 × 12 hats

$3,165

$21.98 a hat

Bought separately $3,724 · you save $559

Includes Two dual-action gravity-feed airbrushes · Production airbrush · Twin-piston compressor with tank and two regulators · Production spray booth · and 13 more

Every item in this kit · 17 items

Blanks

Trucker blank, natural cotton twill front$756144

Stencils

Stencil cutter-plotter, 24 in — the production "stencil printer"$6491
Stencil mylar, 7 mil, 12 × 12 in$8550 sheets
This design's layer files, every layer (SVG)Included1

Paint & masks

Water-based textile airbrush colour, 32 oz — one per colour in this design$38432 oz × 8
Transparent base and reducer$491 gal
Low-tack masking film$543 rolls
Matte fabric sealer$891 gal

Equipment