Bodkin / Patterns

Hot Butt Elk Hair Caddis

Dry Fly · Trout · Grayling · Intermediate · 1 version

Reference Recipe

  • Hook Standard dry-fly hook, 12-16
  • Thread Tan 8/0

Materials

  • Butt Fluorescent orange egg sac (Floss or hot thread, a few turns)
  • Body dubbing Tan or olive dry fly dubbing (Thin noodle)
  • Body hackle Brown hackle (One saddle feather)
  • Wing Natural elk hair (A pinch)

How to tie it

  1. Start the thread mid-shank and lay a smooth base back to the bend.
  2. At the bend build a short hot butt with 4-5 turns of fluorescent orange floss, covering only the rear 10% of the shank; this bright tag is the whole point of the pattern, so keep it tight and stop it clean.
  3. Tie in a brown saddle hackle by the tip right in front of the butt, then dub a thin tapered body forward to the 75% mark.
  4. Palmer the hackle forward over the body in 5-6 evenly spaced open turns and tie it off at 75%; snip the surplus.
  5. Clean and stack a pinch of elk hair, measure it one shank length (tips reaching the bend), and bind it in at 75% with two soft turns that tighten straight down so the butts flare.
  6. Trim the butt ends to a short upright head, build a small thread head, whip finish and add a drop of cement.

Tying videos

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