Justin’s October Caddis

Tied by J. Stockard Pro Tyer Justin Aldrich (RIP)

This soft hackle pattern from the late J. Stockard Pro Tyer Justin Aldrich is a perfect example of how form and function come together in a highly adaptable trout fly. Blending both naturalistic elements and attractor qualities, this pattern walks a fine line between subtle and suggestive—making it deadly effective in a wide variety of fishing conditions.

The body is built with D-Rib, a translucent material that creates realistic segmentation and adds depth when wrapped over a dark brown thread underbody. The chosen orange D-Rib strikes a visual balance—it’s bright enough to trigger a reaction, but the brown beneath tones it down just enough to avoid spooking selective fish.

The spiky orange and brown dubbing adds movement and texture, while a few longer strands of orange provide that little flash that often convinces hesitant trout to commit. Justin finishes the fly with a soft mottled brown partridge hackle, which adds a buggy, breathable profile that pulses in the water with every twitch or current shift.

To extend the life of the fly, especially around trout teeth, he cleverly added a dubbing noodle at the collar—helping to shield the hackle stem without impeding movement.

What makes this fly particularly standout is its versatility. Change up the colors—greens, tans, browns, blacks—and you’ve got imitations for caddis, mayflies, or even small stoneflies depending on hook size.

This is a true multi-species imitator, a pattern that doesn’t lock itself into one hatch or season. Fish it as a soft hackle swung through riffles, as the top fly in a two-fly nymph rig, or even dead-drifted through seams and pockets. It looks alive in the water and offers just enough pop to get noticed without being loud.

Materials

Hook: Barbless Grub, straight eye, sizes #14 – #8.
Bead: Tungsten 3.5mm – 4.6mm Countersunk.
Additional weight: .020 Lead-free wire.
Thread: Dark Brown, 8/0.
Collar: Brown SLF dubbing.
Hackle: Brown Partridge.
Thorax: Fluorescent Orange Angora Goat and Brown SLF dubbing.
Body: Medium size Orange D-Rib.
Cement: Sally Hansen's hard as nails.

Step 1

With the bead threaded and hook seated in the vise make a few wraps with the lead free wire and snug it firmly against the bead. Start your thread just behind the wire and secure wire in place by wrapping over it a few times.

Step 2

Catch in the D-Rib just behind the lead wraps. While stretching it a bit, secure it down well into the bend of the hook with tight thread turns.

Step 3

Now build a slight tapered underbody with the thread stopping just on top of the lead free wire. (Caddis typically don’t have such a sharp tapered body like Mayfly and Stones, so no need to go crazy on tapering.)

Step 4

Bring up the D-Rib in touching turn wraps and secure down on top of the lead-free wire. **(You're gonna be tying on top of the D-Rib some).

Step 5

Next make a blend of the Angora Goat and SLF dubbing. About a 50/50 mixture is fine.

Step 6

Now make a dub noodle with the mixture and dub the first part of the thorax about a few millimeters behind the bead. Make sure to make it big enough to spike it out some.

Step 7

Select a brown partridge feather for the hackle. Don’t be afraid to oversize it. Grab it by the tip and preen the fibers back to snip away the tip for tying in.

Step 8

Tie in the partridge feather by the tip, concave side down, just in front of the dubbing. Use your favorite hackle pliers to hackle the Partridge then tie down securely with a few tight thread wraps. Snip off butt ends.

Step 9

After the partridge is secured in, all that needs to be done is a tight dubbing noodle of SLF dubbing and a few turn whip finish. I like to whip finish the dubbing in front of the hackle to help hide the thread wraps but that’s purely a cosmetic application.