Quick Elk Hair Caddis

Since I am new to fly tying I still struggle with elk and deer hair.  I use elk hair caddis dries frequently on my local streams, so I am constantly trying to figure out how to tie them quicker and better.  Nothing is more frustrating than tightening the thread just to have it spin the hair around the shank of the hook.

I used a pink thread body here so it's easier to see. This is what my elk hair used to look like.

Small Stream Strategy

The first cast made on a small stream will usually be the most productive - if you choose your spot carefully.

Trout want two main things in life; food and shelter.

Getting them both in the same place is ideal. In the photos below I mark shelter-only or food-only spots in yellow. The red (hot spots) have both.

Fly Fishing in Sequoia

Photo journal of a recent trip to the Sequoia National Forest near Kings Canyon.

Newbie Tip: Making Good Choices About Footwear is Critical

This article is *graphic* and contains vivid pictures of an injury and may not be suitable for all readers!!!

So, I'm fishing this wonderful creek somewhere in the Sequoia National Forest when I flip a hopper pattern under a log.  There's a splash, I set the hook, and this fiesty Brown takes off for the under-cut bank on the other side of the log.  "NOT SO FAST!", I yell while giving chase down the bank to try and turn him.  My eyes are on the water as my line goes loose, then tight again.  Only now the feel is wrong - I suspect he hung up my leader.  I am still rushing for a better angle, when *BAM* I stub my toe on an old semi-petrified tree trunk.  I'm down on the bank...

Spoiler: Toe split on an ex-branch shaped like a railroad spike and just as hard.  I bled (a lot) and I will never fish in sandles again.  Now, if you click the link to read more it's on you.  I have told the whole story, and all that's really left is the evidence and this: the Brown spit the hook and I was snagged on the log - as it turns out.

Orvis Wading Sandles Review

I have been wearing these felt bottomed wading sandles since I got them as a Christmas present last year.  So, what you will read here is only after many, many hours of fishing in them.