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3. what is this fly?

I was hoping someone could help me out..I got this fly from a department store in a dry fly multi-pack, but i cant find one like it online cause i dont know what its called. It is some peacock herl with a turn or two of brown hackle at the front and a piece of red yarn at the back. does anyone know what this best imitates and what the common name of this pattern is? thanks, Jody

i took a picture and will post if i can figure out how???

ok heres the pic at flikr.com copy and paste to your address bar

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14563723@N07/?saved=1

Jody,

Your fly is an old wet-fly pattern called the "Brown Hackle" (sometimes known as the "Brown Hackle Peacock"). The "Gray Hackle" is a similar fly tied with grizzly hackle. The red "tag" was variously tied with red hackle fibers, red wing-quill sections, or red wool. Like many of the older wet flies, it was not tied as an imitation of anything in particular.

i guess im mostly curious about this fly cause there is a really great caddis hatch every evening right now at the antietam creek where i generally go to. the hatch gets pretty heavy, off and on throughout the late afternoon untill sunset. i rarely do see any surface activity,
but id have to assume their feeding on the emergers like crazy.

do you think this fly is a descent caddis emerger? if I could ask another one, why do they use red yarn in some patterns? It must be effective though bc i was talking to someone at the lake nearby and he was taking rainbows on a fly he called the proffesor. it also had red yarn trailing behind it and he swore by that pattern. thanks so much for your help! jody

The red tag was a common feature of a number of "attractor" wet-fly patterns, including the Woolly Worm, Zulu, Montreal, Grizzly King, and the Professor. A general approach to covering many common caddisfly emergers might start with a selection of simple soft hackles in tan, yellow, green, black, and peacock bodies. If the caddisfly activity you are seeing is an emergence rather than egg-laying, you can determine which color to use by looking at the body color of a freshly emerged adult. (Many adult caddisflies will darken considerably as they "age" after emergence.)

your advice is greatly appreciated! thank you so much, im gonna do some experimenting with them soft hackles. jody