With a silhouette that borrows from classic wet flies, the Sparkle Softy is an attractor pattern with a primary focus on imitating emerging caddis, although in smaller sizes it can be effective when midges and mayflies are present. Showing fish flies that are a little different from what they’re used to seeing can often be the key to triggering eats and for that reason, don’t sleep on the pink, orange, and purple variants of this fly.

We like to fish this fly on the bottom of our rig, allowing it to swing at the end of the drift until the line is parallel to the bank. We’ll even add a few strips back upstream. As the current straightens out the fly line and tippet, your flies will be pulled up through the water column, mimicking the movement of an emerging insect. The partridge feather on this fly adds to the effect, pulsating in the water as it moves upward and the UV-cured body adds an extra attention-grabbing element.

This is a three season fly and should be used accordingly. In the spring and summer each color variant works as well as the others. In the fall, we lean toward orange to match the natural coloration of the October caddis, borrowing from the knowledge of generations of fly tiers and anglers. Caddis are less prevalent in the winter. 

Our favorite ways to fish it: 

• Suspended sub-surface below a dry fly

• As the last fly in a nymph rig, making sure to let your flies swing downstream at the end of your drift

Type of Water: Rivers, Creeks, Stillwater, High Alpine Lakes 

Imitates: Caddis, Mayfly, Midge, Chironomid

Target Species: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout

Insect Life Stage: Emerger

Pair it with: Chimera, H2 Flashback, Simple Soft Hackle Emerger, Hot Wire CDC Pheasant Tail, Soft Hackle Purple Reign, Lip Sticker