‘Orange’ you glad it’s Monday? No? Then maybe a few of my favorite hot spots will help to cheer you up.

A handful of my favorite orange hot spots

If Monday’s just aren’t your ‘cup of tea’, then maybe be a few of my favorite orange hotspots will help to get rid of those Monday blues.

I’m not sure exactly what it is about the color orange that seems to be so effective for so many of us, but time and time again it’s a color that I have found myself relying on.

Cdc hotspot pheasant tail

“CDC hotspot Pheasant tail”

Hook: Jig (size 14 pictured here)

Bead: Copper/Gold Slotted Tungsten bead to match hook size

Tail/body: Natural pheasant tail

Ribbing: Lagartun Fine Gold Wire

Hot Spot: Orange CDC Oil Puff tied in by the tips, end cut off once finished to release the CDC fibers

Thorax: Squirrel Dubbing

Little black stone jig

“Little Black Stone Jig”

Hook: Jig 18/16 (size 14 works fine as well, the main thing is to match the size of the naturals you are imitating)

Bead: Orange Slotted Tungsten bead to match hook size

Tail/body: Black pheasant tail

Ribbing: Lagartun Fine Gold Wire

Thorax: Squirrel guard hairs mixed with ice dub

This little black stone jig above works great in late winter/early spring when the little black stoneflies are out. Fish it as an anchor fly in a 2 fly rig.

“The Orange and black”

“The Orange and black”

Thread: Orange

Hook: Jig 14

Bead: Black slotted Tungsten to match hook size

Tail/body: Orange pheasant tail

Ribbing: Lagartun Fine Gold Wire

Thorax: light dubbing of squirrel

Collar: Orange CDC feather tied in at the tip and wrapped sparsely

On top of that, the more you look into the idea that trout can see color you’ll get many, many different answers. So many so, that you begin to wonder how anything works at all!

With that being said, if the only thing they actually see is gray-scale; Then maybe to a trout The “Orange and black” above that I tie and fish when the October Caddis are out, looks like nothing more than a ton of legs, moving at a high rate of speed and making a commotion.

Yet they love it.

The always faithful and trusty.. “Frenchie Jig”

“Old Faithful: The Frenchie”

Hook: Jig

Bead: Copper/Gold Slotted Tungsten to match hook size

Tail/body: Natural pheasant tail

Ribbing: Lagartun Fine Gold Wire

Thorax: Orange Ice dub

So when it comes to that trusty, strike inducing, orange hot spot that we rely on so much some days; the bottom line is; that until the fish want to leave us a note on the refrigerator, letting us know why they had chosen that fly over another the day before, we will continue to putting our blind faith into it and into the lips of a trout.

Fish after fish, day after day.

Or maybe the answer is more simple than that.

We love the color, and its why we fish them with such confidence.

Try some of these patterns out, and let me know how they work for you and comment with any questions I may be able to help with.

Happy Tying!