Elk Hair Caddis - Fly Tying Al Troth's Original Dry Fly Pattern

One of the most popular (and effective) American flies, the Elk Hair Caddis can be considered a searching dry fly pattern as it resembles the general form of adult caddisflies or even small stoneflies. Al Troth developed the pattern in 1957 and first fished in on Loyalsock Creek in Pennsylvania, although he had the idea after finding an elk carcass in Montana. It can be tied in a variety of body, wing and hackle colors to match almost any caddis hatches.
Hook: #12-20 dry fly
Thread: Brown or tan
Body: Hare's mask
Hackle: Brown dry fly, palmered
Rib: Fine gold wire
Wing: Elk hair, stacked

[@jeffreystone7327]

Man some of these flies just stand out above the rest. I guess that is what has made them time proven fish catchers. This is an awesome looking fly. Great video and job of tying this one Matt. Thank you for that little trick with twisting the stacker. Pretty cool little tip there Sir. Well done my friend. Thank you.

[@FlyTyer1948]

Matt, somehow I missed this video. Does help the metrics if you get a “like” long after a video is posted? The trick of turning your stacker to align the tip curves is really nifty. Haven’t seen it before.

[@AhmetKaan]

Great video, awesome content my friend! Love the things that you share. Keep putting in the work and impacting peoples lives :) 👌🙏

[@SavageFlies]

Thank you! Will do!

[@stephenland9361]

The Elk Hair Caddis is one of those 'must have' flies in any box. Easy to tie, very effective and can be tied in a variety of styles, sizes and colors. It just looks so 'buggy'!

[@SavageFlies]

I agree 100% Stephen! Why it's been my go-to dry fly for many years. :-)

[@PreppingWithSarge]

Al had something amazing here! I love that you credit the tiers (is that the correct way to spell that?) and give a little history about how it got developed. Your finite motor skills are amazing. This seems like a hobby that surgeons would be great at

[@SavageFlies]

Funny you mention that, my favorite tying tools are from a company that was started by a former surgeon, Dr. Slick. (I thing the spelling is fly tying, tyer, tyers.) I get that wrong sometimes since spellcheck recognizes "tiers" as a word as well! Oh yeah, I saw you hit 300 subs yesterday. Congrats!

[@PreppingWithSarge]

Savage Flies thanks Matt!

[@marshallbaldwin8960]

This us one of the smaller hook choices I will make for box. Thank you

[@tannerpeavy3356]

Great video! I will give this one a shot.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Tanner! The next two are back to GSM patterns but than a new streamer and an old classic (Royal Coachman) for next week. Cheers, Matt

[@OttoJulian_]

Hey Matt, just watched this masterpiece that you created, it got me into thinking: Do you sell them somewhere? or do you have a fishing business? Sorry, just curious. Very cool idea with the poker chips at the end, I've been thinking about how to make a giveaway and be transparent about it. I do have to tell you, my son says I'm #1 dad, so I don't know why you would have a cup like that! lol It's good to see you around and this tutorials are truly amazing. Good job.

[@SavageFlies]

Ha! You probably are the #1 dad now. My kids are almost teenagers so I'm not as cool as I used to be. As for selling flies- no, that really takes tying them by the hundreds. When I do end up with a bunch, I just give them away. Maybe I'll start giving them away on the site. Thanks for giving me the idea! 😁😁

[@OttoJulian_]

@@SavageFlies yeah!! Pretty sure your viewers will appreciate having them!! As a beginner I would pay for them!!

[@OttoJulian_]

@@SavageFlies lol my son is already 12 so yeah, I know the feeling

[@YakFishFly]

I found that the bluegill by my house love this pattern in a size 18 thank you so much and keep up the good work👍

[@SavageFlies]

Great to hear! I think this pattern works great for lots of species. 👍

[@slickydicky]

I have never thought to whip finish before trimming the hair. Definitely going to start tying mine that way now! And congratulations to the winner of the gift card!

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks for the note Dave. And yeah, I've only seen that whip finish method (under the hair) in one book. It was the Tom Rosenbauer book of "Essential American Flies."

[@dalespencer803]

I was just tying the same fly. I saw what I did wrong. Thanks for this video.

[@SavageFlies]

You bet Dale; thanks for watching my friend!

[@mikeney5113]

One of my go to flies as well.very nice matt.thank you.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Mike. The EHC I actually use the most has a CDC body instead of dubbing and hackle. But I wanted to tie the original before doing any variants. Thanks for the note my friend!

[@davehall2160]

Great video Matt and congrats to the winner

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Dave, much appreciated!

[@alloutdoorsnovascotia8791]

thanks ever so much

[@SavageFlies]

You got it my friend! Thanks for supporting the channel.