Basalt Canyon Elk Hair Caddis
by @john
Elk Hair Caddis · Dry fly
Tan wings over a roaring canyon
A classic Elk Hair Caddis dry fly in tan and brown, size 14, for trout rising to adult caddis in riffles and pocket water.
An Elk Hair Caddis dry fly sits in a brass vise above a whitewater canyon of dark basalt and sage. It carries a tan dubbed body ribbed in gold wire, a palmered brown hackle and a pale elk hair wing.
- 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
- Elk hair wing floats high in riffles
- Palmered brown hackle down the body
- Gold wire rib protects the hackle
- Tan dubbed body, size 14 dry hook
- Clipped elk butts form the head
On the water
Pale elk hair sweeps back over a segmented tan body. Brown hackle bristles down its length, and a stubby clipped head sits behind the eye. Behind it, white water tumbles between rust-coloured rock and dusty sage.
Drop it at the head of a riffle or tight to a boulder seam and let it bounce down drag-free. When caddis are skittering in the evening, give it a small twitch to make it hop. The hair and hackle keep it riding high in broken water.
Counter-wrapped gold wire is the detail that matters. Wind it forward in the opposite direction through the palmered hackle, and every stem gets locked down so a trout's teeth cannot unravel it.
Rigging
- Tippet
- 5Xhook size divided by three
- Leader
- Nine feet, tapered — longer and finer in flat water
- Fish it on 5X tippet; step to 4X when trailing a dropper in fast water.
- Dress the wing with floatant before the first cast and false cast dry between drifts.
- Dead drift first, then try a short skate or twitch when caddis are active on the surface.
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 the soft edges of fast canyon runs
- Also fishes
- Works as a searching dry on small freestone streams, and as a high-floating indicator above a small nymph dropper.
Also on this water
- SalmonflyMay–Jun
- CaddisJun–Sep
- October CaddisSep–Oct
Fished out of Maupin and Warm Springs.
Make it yourself
Intermediate5 materials · 11 steps
- Pattern
- Elk Hair Caddis
- Style
- Dry fly
- Hook
- Tiemco 100size 14
- Thread
- Tan 8/0
Materials in the order they go on the hook
- RibFine gold wire
- BodyTan dubbing
- HackleBrown dry-fly hackle, palmered
- WingBleached elk hair
- HeadTrimmed elk hair butts
Details
- Imitates
- Adult caddisfly
- Colors
- Tan, Ginger brown, Cream, Gold
How to tie it
The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (11)
- Mount the hook in the vise and start the thread just behind the eye, wrapping a smooth base back to the bend.
- Tie in the fine gold wire at the bend and leave it hanging off the back.
- Tie in the brown hackle by its stem at the bend, shiny side forward, with fibres about one and a half hook gaps long.
- Dub a slim, slightly tapered tan body forward, stopping two eye lengths behind the eye.
- Palmer the hackle forward in five or six even, open turns and tie it off at the front of the body.
- Counter-wrap the gold wire forward through the hackle in open spirals, wiggling it to avoid trapping fibres, then tie off and trim.
- Clean the underfur from a pinch of elk hair and even the tips in a hair stacker.
- Measure the wing so the tips reach the end of the hook bend.
- Hold the hair on top of the hook and take two loose pinch wraps, then pull tight so the hair flares, adding a few firm wraps.
- Whip finish on the bare shank just behind the hair and add a drop of head cement.
- Trim the elk butts square to leave a short, blunt head over the eye.
Proportions (4)
- Wing tips reach the end of the hook bend, no further.
- Hackle fibres about one and a half times the hook gap.
- Body covers the shank from the bend to two eye lengths behind the eye.
- Clipped head about one eye length long, trimmed square.
Tips (3)
- Use bleached or light elk hair with fine, solid tips; it flares less and lies neater over the body.
- Keep the dubbing thin; a slim body floats better and leaves room for the wing tie-in.
- Stroke the hackle fibres back before winding the wire so the rib slips between them.
Common mistakes (4)
- Crowding the eye leaves no room for the wing; stop the body two eye lengths back.
- Skipping the stacker gives a ragged wing; always even the tips before measuring.
- Winding the wire in the same direction as the hackle traps fibres; counter-wrap it.
- Loose wing wraps let the hair spin; use pinch wraps and pull straight down firmly.
Every kit size
Materials only
Size 14 · Materials only · 12 flies
$46.10
$3.84 a fly
Includes Tiemco 100 · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 100$6.50
Thread & wire
- Tan 8/0 thread$2.95
- Fine gold wire$3.25
Materials
- Tan dubbing$4.50
- Brown dry-fly hackle, palmered$11.95
- Bleached 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
$76.05
$1.58 a fly
Bought separately $80.05 · you save $4
Includes Tiemco 100 · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 100$13
Thread & wire
- Tan 8/0 thread$2.95
- Fine gold wire$3.25
Materials
- Tan dubbing$9
- Brown dry-fly hackle, palmered$23.90
- Bleached 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
$170.06
$1.18 a fly
Bought separately $193.25 · you save $23.19
Includes Tiemco 100 · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 100$35
Thread & wire
- Tan 8/0 thread$8.85
- Fine gold wire$9.75
Materials
- Tan dubbing$18
- Brown dry-fly hackle, palmered$71.70
- Bleached 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
$196.10
$16.34 a fly
Includes Tiemco 100 · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 100$6.50
Thread & wire
- Tan 8/0 thread$2.95
- Fine gold wire$3.25
Materials
- Tan dubbing$4.50
- Brown dry-fly hackle, palmered$11.95
- Bleached 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
$218.55
$4.55 a fly
Bought separately $230.05 · you save $11.50
Includes Tiemco 100 · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 100$13
Thread & wire
- Tan 8/0 thread$2.95
- Fine gold wire$3.25
Materials
- Tan dubbing$9
- Brown dry-fly hackle, palmered$23.90
- Bleached 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
$302.06
$2.10 a fly
Bought separately $343.25 · you save $41.19
Includes Tiemco 100 · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 100$35
Thread & wire
- Tan 8/0 thread$8.85
- Fine gold wire$9.75
Materials
- Tan dubbing$18
- Brown dry-fly hackle, palmered$71.70
- Bleached 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
- tan
- brown hackle
- gold wire
- size 14
- riffles
- pocket water
- canyon
- fly tying