Soft Hackle Carrot
A Czech-team staple — hare's ear body pulsed by CDC and wrapped in hot orange.
Save flies, customise the recipe, log catches against your version.
Sign inTying Recipe
Soft Hackle Carrot
Tying Video
About This Pattern
A hare's-ear-bodied nymph with a fluorescent-orange Glo Brite rib, CDC hackle, and a shrimp-pink ice-dub collar. Impressionistic — looks like nothing and everything at once.
On the Water
How to Fish It
The CDC collar breathes on the drift — don't crowd it with too many wraps. Glo Brite #7 (golden olive) is the classic rib; try #5 for hotter water.
When to Use
Caddis hatches. Warm months. Point-fly duty on searching rigs.
History & Lore
The Soft Hackle Carrot is a pattern many anglers from the Czech national team swear by as their favorite nymph. Devin Olsen adapted it for American water. The hare's-ear dubbing and pulsing CDC hackle moderate the sink rate and give the fly a lifelike motion in the water, while the fluorescent-orange Glo Brite rib sets it apart from everything else in the drift. The 'carrot' name comes from the orange-ribbed, tapered silhouette — this is a caddis-water pattern, a PMD-window pattern, and a warm-month confidence fly in one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size Soft Hackle Carrot should I use?
The Soft Hackle Carrot is most commonly tied in sizes 12–18. Caddis hatches. Warm months. Point-fly duty on searching rigs.
What does a Soft Hackle Carrot imitate?
The Soft Hackle Carrot primarily imitates caddis pupa, mayfly nymph, impressionistic. The CDC collar breathes on the drift — don't crowd it with too many wraps. Glo Brite #7 (golden olive) is the classic rib; try #5 for hotter water.
How do you fish a Soft Hackle Carrot?
The CDC collar breathes on the drift — don't crowd it with too many wraps. Glo Brite #7 (golden olive) is the classic rib; try #5 for hotter water.
Pattern Details
- Category
- Nymphs
- Sizes
- 12–18
- Hook Styles
- jig hook
- Imitates
- caddis pupa, mayfly nymph, impressionistic
- Water Types
- freestone, tailwater, spring creek
- Origin
- Devin Olsen (adapted from Czech team patterns)
—
catches logged by anglers
Pattern Details
- Category
- Nymphs
- Sizes
- 12–18
- Hook Styles
- jig hook
- Imitates
- caddis pupa, mayfly nymph, impressionistic
- Water Types
- freestone, tailwater, spring creek
- Origin
- Devin Olsen (adapted from Czech team patterns)