Emerging Cripple (E/C) Caddis

Tied by Jeremy Barela
Photo by Jeremy Barela

Hook: Standard dry fly #12-18
Thread: Olive 8/0
Tail: Rust antron
Body: Olive superfine, or color to match natural
Wing: Elk hair with a grizzly hackle tied in parachute style.

Tie the grizzly hackle in as you would a parachute adams. The simplest way to do this is by tying in the hackle prior to trimming the butt ends of the elk hair. This will allow you to hold both ends of the elk hair up and wrap the hackle.

This is a great pattern to fish on many of the watersheds in New Mexico. The pattern poses as an emerging and crippled caddis, making it an easy and enticing meal. It is best fished with a dead drift and can be used on slow, flat water or small riffles. You can also tie a dropper caddis pupa like a Peeking Caddis for an effective dry/dropper combo.