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The elk hair caddis should be a staple in all dry fly fishermans boxes, if they aren't in there already. This fly is probably one of the most effective and versatile dry flies ever created, and is right along side flies like the adams. This is relatively easy to tie, and once you get the hang of it, you can tie quite a few of them in an hour. Fill your box in short time, and have a fly that will fish well at most rivers and streams throughout America, and the rest of the world. The target species is obviously trout, but Ive caught bluegill, bass, and even some saltwater species on this fly before as well.

So on my last trip, to Colorado Springs, this fly was the same pattern that Colin ended up landing 6 fish with! It was the most productive fly of the two day trip. So its not only very effective, but relatively easy and cheap to tie. The only expensive part of this fly is the hackle. But once you get a neck, you should be able to tie 100's or even thousands of these flies, in varying sizes. The most common color for hackle is brown, but you can tie it in with other colors as well. Just try to match caddis coloration for your specific area.
So as always I am listing the materials used on this fly.

Hook: Firehole sticks # 419 in size 16
Thread: Brown Veevus 16/0
Hackle: Brown Rooster Cape
Dubbing: Yellow UV2 Fine & Dry
Wing: Bleached Elk Hair
Head Cement: Hard as hull

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The elk hair caddis should be a staple in all dry fly fishermans boxes, if they aren't in there already. This fly is probably one of the most effective and versatile dry flies ever created, and is right along side flies like the adams. This is relatively easy to tie, and once you get the hang of it, you can tie quite a few of them in an hour. Fill your box in short time, and have a fly that will fish well at most rivers and streams throughout America, and the rest of the world. The target species is obviously trout, but Ive caught bluegill, bass, and even some saltwater species on this fly before as well.

So on my last trip, to Colorado Springs, this fly was the same pattern that Colin ended up landing 6 fish with! It was the most productive fly of the two day trip. So its not only very effective, but relatively easy and cheap to tie. The only expensive part of this fly is the hackle. But once you get a neck, you should be able to tie 100's or even thousands of these flies, in varying sizes. The most common color for hackle is brown, but you can tie it in with other colors as well. Just try to match caddis coloration for your specific area.
So as always I am listing the materials used on this fly.

 

Hook: Firehole sticks # 419 in size 16
Thread: Brown Veevus 16/0
Hackle: Brown Rooster Cape
Dubbing: Yellow UV2 Fine & Dry
Wing: Bleached Elk Hair
Head Cement: Hard as hull

 

 

 

Your caddis is a good representation of how most Elk Hair Caddis patterns look these days. However, it is not a faithful example of how Al Troth, the inventor of the EHC designed his signature pattern.

 

Did you know that the commonly tied EHC is not in the Gary LaFontaine's "Caddisflies"? The reason is that the EHC, as it is most often tied, is not a very realistic caddis fly pattern. Most EHC pattern are tied with hollow hair which flairs. When tied, this hair will flair up and form a wing that extend up over the body as in your fly rather than down flat as a real caddis fly.

Al Troth, when he first published his EHC, noted that it should be tied with hair that did not flair, but this type of hair is difficult to find especially for smaller patterns and now virtually every EHC now is tied with a prominent flared wing. Unfortunately, this fact has been ignored and tiers have used the more common hair that flairs which results in an upright wing pattern. An upright wing does not imitate the insect flat tent wing below.

 

Caddisfly.jpg

Gary Lafontaine makes the following observation about the dry fly patterns in his book, "There are some notable absences in the selections. There are no patterns with upright wings. This type generally recommended as an imitation of a fluttering caddisfly is not very effective when trout are feeding selectively, even if the adults are fluttering. When the natural begins unfolding its wings it usually flies off very quickly and such a transitory moment is not worth imitating. The tent wing fly is usually better because it imitates the insect at rest."

The second caddis bible is Larry Solomon and Eric Leiser's "The Caddis and the Angler" published in 1977. "The Caddis and the Angler" has the elk hair caddis pattern on pg 200. You will notice that the hair on the pattern is tent like and does NOT flair much. See below for Al Troth's original EHC:

35593315831_1813512a5d_z.jpg

During an interview with Al Troth before his death, Al's son talks about his father's EHC. Go to 5:35 in the video below and you will see the EHC as it is meant to be tied.

35593315811_c71d1866c9.jpg

My version tied with low flair hair.

 

35593315861_14b6a60548_z.jpg

 

Why then is the EHC so popular? Well it is a great fast water fly and a fluttering caddis fly, it is easily tied, it is a high floater, it is easy to see, and it is durable. But is is NOT IMHO the best fly for calm waters. It is not an all around fly. It can be a better fly for calm waters if you clip the bottom hackles off flat to the hook, and clip off some of flaired deer hair to give the wing a flatter profile.

 

Pre Trimmed Fly

 

UnclippedEHC-1.jpg

 

Post Trimmed Fly

 

ClippedEHC-1.jpg

 

I think it is even better if tied so that the wing flairs less. Here is a tying tip to make the wings flatter. If you dub the body so that it has a "reverse taper" so that it is thicker at the tail of the fly and then narrows at the head end of the fly, the wing will lie flatter on the body. Then there will be no "bump" at the front edge of the dubbing to lift the wing up.

 

Another way to tie the fly with a flat wing is to bend the front 1/3 of the hook up at a 30 degree angle. Then tie the hair on this bent section. The 30 degree up angle will angle the tied hair DOWN 30 degrees and it will lie flat over the back of the fly. Tie it in the manner that Gary Borger ties his Poly Caddis

 

http://www.garyborger.com/2011/06/08/poly-caddis/

 

Sorry for hijacking the thread. I do think your pattern is a good "modified" EHC.

 

If the above post makes you examine how you tie the EHC and how the wing really should look for a more realistic pattern, all the better. Hopefully, the next time you try an EHC in the right color and size and the fish refuse, you'll think about this post and trim the fly or better yet tie up both types of EHC in homage to Al Troth.

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Thanks for the video. As I read through your original post, the hatch-matcher in me got his hackles up at the notion that this is an all purpose fly. If I do not see caddis on a trout stream, I won't tie on a caddis. There are several other dries, nymphs, and streamers that I would locate fish with. If there are adult caddis, I select the adult caddis that most closely mimics the insect that is on the menu. I will admit an exception, when warm water fishing for bluegill during the spawn, hatches are rarely an issue. They will eat anything that can float. I often use an EHC because they float well and even after several fish have slimed the fly, a few false casts will make them float again.

 

As Silver Creek states, I have always tied my EHC in the more traditional style so that the finished fly has a low profile, tent style wing. Davie McPhail has a method of pinching the flared hair and pushing toward the head to crimp the hairs making them lay down.

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