As you might have guessed, I'm a big fan of the old soft hackle wet flies & the Orange Fish Hawk is one of those. I think, to the fish, it looks like certain caddis flies & certain types of mayflies that hatch out in early to mid April. Either way, I know it works. (one friend once compared it to what some bait fisherman use for trout, calling it 'the orange salmon egg of fly fishing', which of course it wouldn't be, as we actually have orange salmon egg flies, haha!!)
If you haven't tried this pattern before, you're missing out. Use this fly when the water's still a bit cold & the trout aren't feeding on any visible hatch. Here's the recipe:
Tag: Flat gold tinsel
Ribbing: Flat gold tinsel
Body: Orange floss
Hackle: Badger hen hackle, two wraps - no more than three.
Hook: Wet fly sizes 10 - 14
You can substitute orange yarn for the body if you wish & you can also use different feathers such as partridge, grizzly, or grouse for the hackle. As you can see, this is just a very old modification to the Partridge & Orange fly pattern.
Easy to tie & fun to fish, the Orange Fish Hawk just might make an early season day on the water a very memorable one, indeed.