I’m in desperate need of some EHC’s and I havent gotten around to drying my elk hide… Has anyone used yarn for the wing? Will it work? It seems as though it should float just as well, but maybe not as long? any suggestions? Thank you
-David
It should work just fine . I would suggest however that you use Polypropelene yarn .
Life is like a fly swap…You never know what your going to get.
Hi David,
2BP is right. Poly yarn makes a fine wing for the Elk Hair caddis though I guess technically it really isn’t an Elk Hair Caddis anymore. Maybe it’s a PPC, a Polypropelene Caddis. It’s easy to tie and looks good. I’ve used poly yarn in this way on bluegill flies for some time. Go for it! 8T 
You had better learn to be a happy camper. You only get one try at this campground and it’s a real short camping season.
Hi ML,
when I was teaching fly tying to kids at the FFF daycamp in our area, we taught them using the z-lon yarn for the wings. Flies worked and looked nice but I still prefer the elkhair over the yarn. Remember to apply something like watershed to the material when the fly is completed.
Not really your question but…for some reason I can float an “EHC” tied with calftail for the wing better than with elk???
[This message has been edited by ducksterman (edited 18 June 2006).]
MountainLaker - You can get a nice piece of coastal deer hair that is perfect for EHC from Hook & Hackle for a whopping $1.60 with the 20% discount. Hardly worth going to any trouble to cure your own. Ron’s a good guy - he’ll hook you up.
If you tie a fly with a different material you are changing that fly and it will no longer be the one you wanted in the first place. A caddis tied with a yarn wing is a yarn wing caddis same with calftail or any other material you may use. An Elk Hair Caddis is tied with an Elk Hair Wing. If you have an Elk hide that is green you do not have to wait for it to dry to use it. Just cut off what you may need wash it good and salt it. Then use it as is. It will work just fine.I have used the hair off of a green hide with nothing done to it and it is fine to use. You are using the hair not the hide and the hair is the same even if the hide is green. Just make sure to cure the rest that is left over if you do not use the whole piece. Ron
[url=http://flytyingworld.com/PagesK/kb-rackelhanen.htm:d3ab2]http://flytyingworld.com/PagesK/kb-rackelhanen.htm[/url:d3ab2]
Here 'tis. Been around since 1967.
There’s also a Rackelhanen page somewhere on the WWW. I looked through my bookmarks, but I have way too many and didn’t find it. Sorry.
The answer to the possibility of tying a good caddis pattern with polypropylene is a definite YES. I’ve done it successfully, and I’m miles away from beeing a good tier. And they’re an even simpler tie than other caddis patterns.
G’luck
Bill
Name indicates where I fish and for what I fish.
MountainLaker,
Poly yarn works very well as a wing material for EHC. I first learned to use Poly yarn as a wing material from a fly tying video by Al and Gretchen Beatty. I think it’s the beginners tying video I got the lesson from. The yarn wing works great and a lot easier to tie on than elkhair, especially if you tie creekside.
Hi ML…take a look at Skip Morris’s Skaddis in the FOTW archives…nice looking fly. He ties the poly yarn wing in at about the 2/3 point and then hackles it to the eye. I have the feeling that poly yarn would spread out too much if you tie it the same as a EHC. Good luck…Jason
“There’s always room for one more wrap of hackle”