Elk Hair Caddis Dry Fly

The Elk Hair Caddis and the Adams are the two most popular dry flies.  It is undoubtedly the most popular caddis pattern in the world.  The most remarkable point of the fly is how high it rides on the water.  This is in large point to the hackle points that distinguish the fly from other dries.

 The fly is credited to Al Troth and dates back to 1957.  The fly can be used to fish for trout, grayling and even pan fish.  Bream and other pan fish species will hit smaller sizes of the fly, especially on nearly still water.

Popular sizes for trout are 12 – 18, for steelhead sizes 6 – 10 and bream and other pan fish will use 16-20.

The Elk Hair Caddis is tied in a variety of colors.  Most popular are natural, brown followed closely by black.  There are variations of the fly in yellow and chartreuse. 

The fly can be fished independently or as part of a dry dropper configuration.  The Elk Hair points help the fly stay buoyant so tying a nymph as a dropper will typically not cause the Elk Hair to sink.

We offer the Elk Hair Caddis in our Dry fly Kit and as a set of 48 with 4 different color and size combinations.  See also Elk Hair Caddis Single Fly.