Dry FliesGinger Tups
Hans Weilenmann's Ginger Tups pairs a bare silk abdomen with a Tups mixture thorax, letting the antique gold Pearsall's silk itself supply the body's color and sheen. Pale ginger hen hackle and tail keep the profile soft and buggy.
Spring, Summer, Fall
Intermediate
Trout
Feb 2026
Overview
The Ginger Tups keeps to a traditional dressing style, using nothing but tying silk for the abdomen so the antique gold Pearsall's Gossamer shows through on its own, then finishing with a Tups mixture thorax for texture and color. Pale ginger hen hackle fibers form both the tail and hackle, giving the fly a soft, translucent presence on the water. Hans Weilenmann's version works well during evening hatches, on rivers and stillwaters through spring, summer, and fall, when caddis are breaking the surface in numbers.
Where to Buy This Fly
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Materials
- Hook:
- Grip 14723BL #14
- Thread:
- Pearsall's Gossamer, antique gold
- Hackle:
- Hen, pale ginger
- Tail:
- Hackle barbs, pale ginger
- Abdomen:
- Tying silk
- Thorax:
- Tups mixture
Behavior & Presentation
Natural Behavior: Adult caddisflies emerge rapidly through the surface film during evening hours, breaking through with bursts of energy before flying to streamside vegetation. The soft ginger hen hackle and tups dubbing thorax suggest the fuzzy, mobile appearance of emergers transitioning through the film.
Where Trout Eat It: Trout take soft-hackle emergers in Southwest freestone transitions, feeding subsurface during mixed insect activity.
How to Fish It: Dead drift with occasional lift at drift end, using neutral ginger coloration to match multiple species.
Best Water: Target freestone riffle tails transitioning to pool heads, pockets behind boulders, and moderate-gradient runs.
Strike Type: Trout feeding on emergers produce varied rise forms from splashy refusals to confident sips; watch carefully and set when you see the take.
Fishing Strategy
Rigging Suggestions: Fish on 9-12 foot leader with 5X-6X tippet. Fine tippet supports sparse profile and delicate presentation needed for opportunistically feeding trout.
Seasonal Timing: Most effective during mayfly emergences April through June and activity September through October when water temperatures range 48-60°F. Morning and evening feeding periods produce most reliable results.
Pro Tips: The tups indispensable dubbing blend creates lifelike translucency in varied light. The warm ginger tone matches many naturals without requiring specific size or species matching during mixed hatches.
Entomology
Caddisflies emerge during evening hours, breaking through the surface film with rapid ascending movements that create distinctive disturbances before flying away to streamside vegetation. Trout feed opportunistically during these emergence periods because the concentrated hatches provide feeding frenzies where multiple meals become available simultaneously in predictable locations.
- Order
- Trichoptera
- Common Name
- Caddisfly
- Organism Type
- insect
- Life Stage
- adult
