The Holy Grail stands as an excellent caddis emerger pattern, widely embraced by numerous experienced trout guides in the western regions.

This versatile fly exhibits a remarkable level of natural appeal and is forgiving in its performance, allowing for various fishing techniques such as dead drifting, swinging after the drift, or even stripping it behind a streamer.

The Holy Grail comes in three primary colour variations: Natural, Olive, and Black, all of which demonstrate equal effectiveness and should be considered essential additions to any caddis fly collection.

Savage Flies‘ Matt O’Neal says:

“It’s a pretty simple tie; basically a Caddis Pupa. It’s a little fuzzy and a little bit of flash ribbed up through the body and there are a few different ways you can tie this thing. Vary the colours to match the bugs in your water. Maybe a Caddis green body or a orange or kind of gold if the October Caddis are hatching but you can never go wrong with the natural colors; you know the boring tans and browns because, let’s face it, a lot of the real bugs out there are kind of boring. But one other way you can vary this thing is with the legs. You can wrap the front hackle up as a collar or you can tie it underneath as a throat.“

Materials

• Hook: #12-16 curved shank
• Bead: 2.4mm
• Thread: Red
• Rib: Small opal or pealescent tinsel
• Body: Hare’s mask dubbing
• Wing case: Pheasant tail fibres
• Hackle: Partridge feather

Tying Instructions

1. Crush the barb and put the bead on the hook.
2. Tie the thread two bead lengths from the eye

3. Move the bead out to the starting point and figure eight wrap it in place.
4. Cover the hook with thread to the middle.

5. Tie in opal tinsel and wrap back to the bend in the hook and back off two turns.
6. Wrap a noodle of hare’s ear dubbing back to just behind the bead head.

7. Rib the body with the flash.
8. Tie a clump of ten or 12 pheasant tail fibres behind the bead.

9. Dub a thicker thorax with the dubbing.
10. Take the thread over the bead and secure it in front of the bead.

11. Tie off the pheasant tail wing case in front of the bead.
12. Tie in the partridge feather and make one and a half wraps.
13. Tie off and make a big red head.