I hate Elk Hair Caddis

[navigator37 0]

I gave up trying to tie them and switched to tying

the ' mud caddis'.

It's an ugly, full body deer hair pattern that works well.

Floats like a cork too.

Just spin the deer hair from the back to the front and trim to shape.

[mouse6196 0]

I know the only way to get good at them is to practice - it was just easier to bitch and moan a bit instead

 

I have tied a few CDC & Elk and werent real happy with them either.

 

Overall i think the thing that i struggle with the most is getting a wing that doesnt flare. I am not sure if i am not tying it correctly or if i am using the wrong type of elk/deer hair.

 

Do 2 very loose wraps over the hair, and then only when the thread is forward of these, do you tighten it to flare the head. The loose wraps like a collar for the hiar to stay together, but aren't tight enough to flare the hair. Good Luck...once you get this part down, you'll be on your way.

 

[TheDanishfly91(Bo Kloster) 0]

Then ty a Streaking caddis, it's very easy, and not complicated

[mouse6196 0]

I hope you master this fly. In this part of Canada the Elk Hair Caddis takes about 80% of fish in mid summer.

[JohnP 0]

I used to have trouble with this pattern, but my local fly shop proprietor offered a couple of tips.

For the wing, he suggested using yearling elk hair, which does not flare as much. I also had trouble trimming the wing butts and not getting them caught when i went to finish the head of the fly. He suggested leaving them long until after I had whip-finished the head, which makes it much easier to hold them up out of the way. A simple, obvious solution that I had never thought of.

I also leave off the ribbing and have not had too much of a problem with durability. It is a great fly and a standby out West.

Hope this helps,

John

[rockworm 0]

Crotalus

 

A few suggestions which may help:

 

Don't start the rib at the end of the body, but rather 2 or 3 mm closer to the front. (Wind a bit of dubbing behind the rib. And don't forget to give the body a reverse taper.)

 

Select a hackle which is at least a size under. (ie #16 or #17 for a #14 hook.) I find that tying the hackle in so that the good side faces straight up usually works well. It is important that the hackle stem is not too thick or stiff- I usually use only the top 1/2 of a hackle.

 

Some advocate a sparse wing- others a thicker wing. Either way, when tying in the wing- hold the elk hair firmly in your left hand and make the first wrap just behind the eye. Then wrap back 6-12 turns. If the hair tries to rotate, just twist it back into place. Then wrap the thread tightly forward. Lift up the hair butts and wrap 6-12 turns of thread behind the hook eye and under the butts. This should lift up the hair butts and make a nice caddis head. These turns will also anchor the wing and prevent further rotation.

 

Now whip finish over the windings holding the hair down. (Not under the butts and behind the eye!) I like to double whip. A drop of head cement finishes the fly.

 

From underneath, the wing should present a triangular profile as in the natural: Elk hair fibers should envelope the body and come down to just below the level of the hook shank.

 

I tye some with a heavy wing (for rough water) and some with a sparse wing (for smoother water.) For really smooth water I omit the hackle and rib.

 

I hope this helps a bit.

[yuppie hater 0]

they are the bane of my fly tying existence. In the 8+ years that i have been tying i dont think i have tied even one that I am happy with and very few that i was "satisfied" with. I have tied a couple X-caddis that were passable but that is the exent of it.

 

From the hackle to the wire wrap to the wing i just can't seem to get the hang of them.

 

 

Ok vent over, just had to get that off my chest.

 

i will try a few more later tonight i suppose.

the elk hair is a great fly, but you'll have better luck with a cdc caddis. use cdc dubbed on for the body (no ribbing or hackle) and use cdc for the wing too. it's super fast to tie, floats like crazy and actually looks great everytime (to you and the fish). good luck

 

[Shaniatwain427 0]

Unlike mayflies, adult caddis are not especially vulnerable to trout when they first hatch. However, they are long-lived (compared to mayflies), and often fall or are blown onto the river. So adult imitations work well any...

[SilverCreek 0]

The EHC should be tied with non flaring hair for a more natural flat resting position of the caddis wings.

 

You can modify the hook if you must use flaring hair. Bending the forward 1/3 part of the hook upward at 30 degrees, with the hair tied on the upward slant lowers the upward flair of the hair by 30 degrees. Tie the elk/deer hair in at the slant as in the fly below.

 

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

 

An alternative non flaring hair is to use woodchuck hair instead of hollow deer or elk hair.

[dawgvet 0]

One thing I do that helps is tie half the wing on then make a couple wraps, then tie on second half. Helps keep the wing from spinning and larger wings are possible without any fibers being loose in middle of clump.

Enjoyed this thread alot.

[troutguy 0]

If you can get your hands on a dead deer, don't try a live one or it will kick the snot out of you. Skin the leg just above a hoof, the hair is very fine and makes an easy to tie EHC.

[André Ribeiro 0]

It's one of my favorite dry flies!

 

I'm just an apprentice, but I think my flies aren't so ugly, and the most important: they catch fish!

 

 

 

Here my SBS, hope it could help a little: http://www.fuzzyflies.com/2013/08/na-duvida-elk-hair-caddis.html

 

Big Hug

[williamhj 0]

I'd add that if I'm working to learn a pattern I'll tie it in stages. Get a dozen hooks, and work through them step by step. For the EHC is might be as easy as getting the abdomen done on all 12 then move on to the elk hair wing. It helps me focus on each step improving gradually rather than finishing a fly and starting again.

 

I agree that flies don't need to be perfect to catch fish, but I think many of us understand wanting to tie a fly well whether or not it improves the effectiveness of a pattern.

[sunsignarcher 0]

I'm going to add insult to injury and post my first attempt at this pattern...sorry.

Cravins basic fly tying goes into detail on different hair types how they behave and when to use what. His sbs's really do make it easy. Only thing I changed was the head.

..and yes, I shaved this hook more times than ill admit to and nearly burned an entire patch of hair before I called this one done. Now they're cake though.

[DustinPedley 0]

I don't rib mine either. With modern saddle hackles there's no real advantage to reverse wrap the hackle and rib. Probably back when Al Troth originally tied them he needed to as the hackle was much more tapered and a lower quality.

 

Most people I see tie the wing to heavy. They look better with less hair in my opinion and the fish don't seem to care.