Bodkin / Patterns

Elk Hair Caddis Rubber Leg

Dry Fly · Trout · Grayling · Intermediate · 1 version

Reference Recipe

  • Hook Standard dry-fly hook, #10-#14
  • Thread Tan 8/0

Materials

  • Body Olive/tan heads (Coarse dry-fly dubbing)
  • Hackle Brown hackle (1 feather, palmered)
  • Rib Gold middle (Fine wire, counter-wrapped)
  • Legs Barred tan rubber legs (1 pair round rubber legs per side)
  • Wing Natural tan material (Bunch of elk hair)

How to tie it

  1. Mount the hook and start thread at the bend; tie in the gold wire and a brown hackle by the tip.
  2. Dub a shaggy body forward to the 75% mark.
  3. Palmer the hackle forward through the body in 5-6 open turns and tie it off with the wire.
  4. Counter-wrap the wire forward through the hackle in the opposite direction to lock the stem, then trim the excess.
  5. Tie in a rubber leg on each side, splayed outward and reaching to about the hook point.
  6. Clean and stack a bunch of elk hair, bind it over the top with tips past the bend, and flare the butts into a short head; whip finish.

Tying videos

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