Materials

Hook:
TMC 2457 or 2487 sizes 10-16 (I prefer the 2457 because of its heavier wire).

Head:
Gold or brass bead.

Thread:
Prewaxed 6/0, color to match abdomen.

Ribbing:
Fine copper wire.

Abdomen:
Light brown sparkle yarn cut into 1/8-inch to 1/16-inch pieces.

Thorax:
Dark brown sparkle yarn cut into ½ -inch pieces.

Collar:
Hungarian partridge.

Tying Instructions

Step 1

Debarb the hook and slide the bead up to the hook’s [...]

The RW Pupa is intended to serve as an easier-to-tie alternative to Gary LaFontaine’s Deep Sparkle Pupa, which itself is a highly effective fly for California’s caddis-filled streams. The RW Pupa is not so much a new pattern as it is a combination of two different dubbing methods. The first is Gary LaFontaine’s “touch dubbing” [...]