October Caddis Soft Hackle
While elk hair and deer hair October Caddis dry flies get most of the glory, the pupa stage is what trout are actually eating as these big orange insects drift subsurface on their way to the surface in autumn. The Orvis recipe uses a chickabou feather in rust-orange for a hackle that produces extraordinary movement in the water. Fish it on a short-line swing tight to the bank in September and October when these large insects are emerging, and hold on — strikes are savage.
- Type
- wet fly (Caddis)
- Hook sizes
- #10–12
- Target species
- trout
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best seasons
- fall
Materials
- hook: 3X-short dry fly or standard hook #10–12
- thread: Burnt orange 6/0
- body: Rust-orange or burnt orange dubbing
- ribbing: Fine gold wire
- hackle: Rust or burnt orange chickabou (marabou) feather, 2–3 turns
Tying steps
- Mount a 3X-short dry fly or standard hook size 10–12 and start burnt orange or rust thread at the bend.
- Dub a full, tapered body of rust-orange or burnt orange dubbing from bend to 2/3 point.
- Rib the body with fine gold wire in 5 even counter-rib turns to suggest segmentation.
- Prepare a large rust or burnt orange chickabou (marabou) feather; strip the bottom fibers and tie in by the tip at the 2/3 point.
- Wind the chickabou feather 2–3 turns to form a full, flowing collar hackle.
- Sweep fibers rearward and bind down; build a neat head of burnt orange thread, whip finish, and cement.