Taking Caddis Seriously

[NJpatbee]

Like most of us, I have planned days off, traveled hundreds of miles, and risked domestic harmony to catch Mayfly hatches during their peak emergence periods throughout the Northeast. For myself, Quill Gordons, Hendricksons, Blue Quills, March Browns, Green Drakes, Light Cahills, Blue Winged Olives, White Flies, along with others, conjure up images of dry fly fishing heaven. However, the trout dry fly fishing season is a long one, and there are more times when the mayflies are not hatching when I am on the water. Some also bemoan the empty times, such as the period between the Hendricksons and Sulphurs in the Spring.

A couple of books, read early in my fly fishing days, allowed me to avoid the dependence on mayfly hatches for dry fly fishing that many have inherited. Many of you have read Vince Marinaro's Modern Dry Fly Code from the early 1950's, which did a great job of convincing me to tie and fish terrestrials, especially in the Summer. The second book, Leonard Wright's Fishing the Dry Fly as a Living Insect published early in the 1970's, gave us a type of pattern (Fluttering Caddis) and a method of fishing it that opened up a whole new world to me. I started with a couple of shades (tan/brown, black/grey) in a couple of sizes and using Wright's down and across method I caught trout on the top from Spring through Fall. Taking it one step futher, a good caddis reference book such as The Caddisfly Handbook: An Orvis Streamside Guide gives a concise description of the major Caddis hatches in the Western and Eastern US. I now tie eight different caddis patterns and have a good idea of when and where to find them. I have modified Wright's original pattern to my own liking, but the basic pattern type is the same.

Each of these books can still be found, and Wright's book was re-published in soft cover in 1988. If you enjoy action on the top, I recommend that you take the Caddis Fly more seriously and do some investigation. The "empty times" will be far fewer.

 

[lightenup]

Caddis are my favorite to fish.....they are available to trout much more often than Mayflies, and trout will readily take them almost any time of day....my favorite fly.....an Iris Caddis.....it can be fished wet or dry and catches fish constantly...my buddy caught a 15", what appeared to be wild brown, in the gorge on Sunday...on an Iris Caddis swung deep. go figure.......31 degrees out......

 

[flyI4]

Nice post NJP,

I agree caddis play a valuable role to the trout, and to the trout fisherman during various times of the season. I do know the way trout respond to caddis varies however depending on the given stream, the variety and population of different hatches on a given stream, and the time of year. Trout will almost always be willing to take a well presented caddis pattern, even when they aren't necessarily "keyed in" to the caddis on the water during times when multiple insects are coming down the river.
Also, just because trout don't always get consistent on the adults does not mean caddis pupa aren't a good first fly to try on almost any occasion. I would say that I took 25-30% of my trout last year on caddis pupa in various sizes, colors, and pattern types. They sit right in the film and again it doesnt matter if the fish are on them, they will almost always take it since pupa are an easy meal and low in the water column. The same goes for spent caddis. I like the split wing elk hair patterns with no hackle, and cdc caddis patterns as well. I'll usually only put on a traditionally hackled elk hair caddis during times that I'm fishing the riffles, or during the october caddis hatch which are big and not around during a finicky time of year. The october caddis hatch in the catskills might best define my previous posts best though in terms of caddis adults everywhere and limited surface action. The fish just don't bother with them on the surface on most days. The way I've approached caddis over the years now is I don't expect the fish to be going nuts for them, but still fish caddis often as bail out flies on tricky fish. When they do get on them(especially delaware bows in the riffles, its a fun time with aggressive takes and one of those hatches sporadic rises can still produce several fish in a day). On smaller freestone streams that hold smaller, but less pressured trout, I've also noticed that those fish will get on the caddis in more consistent fashion because they don't have the same amount of bug life/food sources available to them so they can't afford to get picky between food types.

 

[Matt Grobert]

Pat,

That's for sure. Caddis are just as important as mayflies to the trout and fly fisherman, and as you said, having a good selection of patterns can often save the day when you anticipate a mayfly hatch and it doesn't show.

Gary LaFontaine's book, Caddisflies is also a good reference with lots of basic and technical info, and more recently Thomas Ames book Caddisflies - A Field Guide....is also good.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

I would go further and say that in most of our local streams, caddis make up a larger portion of the trout's diet than do mayflies and by far. You just don't get the same consistent dry fly action like you do to mayfly duns most of the time. But even if they are taking the emergers just under the film, an elk hair will typically get them to take off the surface anyway. The only times I get down on caddis hatches are those blanket hatch days when it looks like it's snowing up from the river, there isn't a single rise in sight, and you know the trout are gorging themselves below the surface and your fly just isn't standing out to them amongst all the naturals. But most days, caddis are as important a fly as any mayfly. I can't tell you how many "bug week" days I've had on the WBD where multiple, large/jumbo mayflies were drifting on the surface and the trout only wanted small black caddis in the film. All the size 6 green drake parachutes in the world won't beat a single size 18 black LaFontaine on a day like that.

 

[tomfly]

I personally have always have done statistically better with caddis then I have ever done with mayflies. I have done pretty well with a Henryville Special over the years. When I was younger in the early 80s, I can remember the prolific caddis hatches on the Lacky and the Big Bushkill. They would come off in heavy spurts. Back then I never fished pupas. It was always duns. There were so many on the water it seemed every fish on the stream was taking them. They still have a good caddis hatch but I have not seen them like that in a long time. Perhaps this year with the somewhat normal winter we have had. Maybe?

 

[Rusty Spinner]

my favorite fly.....an Iris Caddis.....it can be fished wet or dry and catches fish constantly

Ah yes, the Irish Cabbage fly

 

[Lonewolve]

I personally have always have done statistically better with caddis then I have ever done with mayflies. I have done pretty well with a Henryville Special over the years. When I was younger in the early 80s, I can remember the prolific caddis hatches on the Lacky and the Big Bushkill. They would come off in heavy spurts. Back then I never fished pupas. It was always duns. There were so many on the water it seemed every fish on the stream was taking them. They still have a good caddis hatch but I have not seen them like that in a long time. Perhaps this year with the somewhat normal winter we have had. Maybe?

there are no duns when its a adult caddis

 

[Trout Nazi]

Don't see how anyone can think that caddis aren't important. They're ubiquitous in every trout stream, and given their higher tolerance for poor quality water, are the dominant species in many streams.

 

[Barleywine]

I remember a presentation a few years ago by Mike McAuliffe and John Collins that was based on stomach pumped samples of trout from mostly the South Branch and the Musky. I believe Mike said that only about 8% of the trout's yearly diet came from mayflies. I've been tying more caddis this winter, adding Matt Grobert's Caribou Caddis to the mix for the upcoming season.

 

[mob201]

One thing I absolutely believe is that a tough caddis hatch is perhaps the single best test of a fisherman's skill. Dead drifting a dun or a spinner when the fish are on a specific mayfly is really not all that hard if you know how to reach cast and how to mend your line, and more importantly how to pick your spots. Indicator nymphing... same story.

But I have experienced some absolutely humbling caddis hatches over the years, in part because there are so many ways that the fish might choose to feed, and different stages they might target, at different places in the water column and at different points in the hatch.

The hatch in which a caddis blizzard above the river produces no visible rises is a classic example, as is the hatch in which trout are finning and slapping the surface while eating cripples and emergers in the film, in which case an elk hair will get you nothing except frustration.

Having said that, caddis imitations have probably caught me a plurality of my fish if you count all the hare's ears that I've caught fish on at times when there was no apparent hatch and when trout were probably hanging out on the bottom keeping an eye out for a stray caddis pupa.

 

[tomfly]

there are no duns when its a adult caddis

Google Caddis dun it is a term for the adult

 

[Matt Grobert]

Don't see how anyone can think that caddis aren't important. They're ubiquitous in every trout stream, and given their higher tolerance for poor quality water, are the dominant species in many streams.

THey sure are tolerant.......I grew up fishing the Passaic River in Chatham, and I can remember when I was a kid we would be fishing for carp and there would be what I now know are caddis hatches coming off what was then turbid, brown water. Even the carp started taking them. Without question, I catch more trout every year on caddis imitations, both wet and dry, than on mayfly imitations and that includes out West.

 

[lightenup]

I remember a presentation a few years ago by Mike McAuliffe and John Collins that was based on stomach pumped samples of trout from mostly the South Branch and the Musky. I believe Mike said that only about 8% of the trout's yearly diet came from mayflies. I've been tying more caddis this winter, adding Matt Grobert's Caribou Caddis to the mix for the upcoming season.

Barley, When I was newer to fly fishing....I was fishing with a more experienced friend in the Gorge in the fall, and I was not yet familiar with the Caribou Caddis. As always, this fella gave me a lot of space, but I made sure I could see him, so I might learn something.....Glad I did..he was catching fish after fish as I looked on and wondered...... what the???? So, I made the walk and asked what are you using...he replied, "piss off, hahaha"..and then graciously handed over a Caribou Caddis...cream colored...I think it was a 16...I did have a bit of luck with it, but like I said....I was new to the fly rod, and a good drift was few and far between then.....

 

[flytire]

Google Caddis dun it is a term for the adult

the google search i did indicated a "caddis dun" had more to do with the color (dun as in blue dun or grayish) than the life stage of the insect

post up some pictures of your "caddis duns"

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Using "dun" for caddis is likely a mistake many fly anglers make when they mean adult caddis (as in winged caddis). Whereas "dun" in mayfly vernacular means subimago, the first stage of the winged form of mayflies, but the form that often rests on the water's surface for some time right after emerging through the film before these duns fly to streamside vegetation to molt into the sexually mature imago stage. Seldom do we see adult caddis drifting on the surface for very long, if at all. That's why I carry so many LaFontaine sparkle pupa flies, fished wet or dry (just in the film) during caddis emergence.

 

[tomfly]

the google search i did indicated a "caddis dun" had more to do with the color (dun as in blue dun or grayish) than the life stage of the insect

post up some pictures of your "caddis duns"

Dun is a concept used to call an adultinsect. It is just semantics.

Here are some photos of caddis duns

Adult Caddis (Dun's) - North Eastern Fly Fishing's Online Photo Gallery

 

[Trouser Trout]

Dun is a concept used to call an adultinsect. It is just semantics.

Here are some photos of caddis duns

Adult Caddis (Dun's) - North Eastern Fly Fishing's Online Photo Gallery

And if anybody knows a thing or two about the caddis.............

remember this one?

 

[Johnny Utah]

Google Caddis dun it is a term for the adult

What does google know

 

[Rusty Spinner]

And if anybody knows a thing or two about the caddis.............

remember this one?

Not that's a vice that can actually also tell time. As in, it's time for a new vise! C'mon, you gotta spend more than 15 bucks

 

[Pete]

Not that's a vice that can actually also tell time. As in, it's time for a new vise! C'mon, you gotta spend more than 15 bucks

Mine only cost 12 bucks.
At the time it was the standard for vices...
It's just as good now as it was then.

 

[bkill]

THey sure are tolerant.......I grew up fishing the Passaic River in Chatham, and I can remember when I was a kid we would be fishing for carp and there would be what I now know are caddis hatches coming off what was then turbid, brown water. Even the carp started taking them. Without question, I catch more trout every year on caddis imitations, both wet and dry, than on mayfly imitations and that includes out West.

We fished over caddis hatches on the mud stained Manasquan as kids... The shucks would be attached to tires but they didnt like the shopping carts (maybe the new plastic ones are more attractive to them)...

Once I has canoeing the river with a girlfriend and I said "That is Caddis in the trees" she replied Forget the Cats in the trees, whats with all these moths flying around".. Yes.. she was a blonde...

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Won't be long now...




Musky, 4 months post river channel restoration.

 

[Johnny Utah]

I was out yesterday for a little while in the afternoon and I spotted several grannoms. Couldnt get a pic cause it wouldnt sit still lol

 

[mob201]

Rusty do you have any secrets for strike detection when fishing a pupa pattern in the film? I typically just watch my leader and for a disturbance near where my fly should be, but I don't feel real confident in doing so, especially when I'm 40 or 50 feet from my fly.

I sometimes fish a big dry fly as an indicator with an emerger dropper on a greased tippet, and that works okay but it's far from ideal for a number of reasons. Feel like I'm missing something...

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Rusty do you have any secrets for strike detection when fishing a pupa pattern in the film? I typically just watch my leader and for a disturbance near where my fly should be, but I don't feel real confident in doing so, especially when I'm 40 or 50 feet from my fly.

I sometimes fish a big dry fly as an indicator with an emerger dropper on a greased tippet, and that works okay but it's far from ideal for a number of reasons. Feel like I'm missing something...

When I want the fly in the film, I fish one with either a CDC wing or an elk hair wing. These aren't the wings of a full adult like an elk hair caddis imitates, but the wing is typically good enough to see, even at distance. Watch for the rise form and set the hook. If they'll eat on top and not in the film, then switch to an elk hair or other high floating imitation. I love using a dun mayfly that is currently hatching as my dry and a sparser LaFontaine sparkle pupa as a dropper below the film. Both will catch fish. Once I find fish keying in on one fly, I always remove my dropper. But when you're not yet sure or some fish are feeding on one fly under the surface while others to the dry, a dry - dropper is a great way to go.

 

[flyman23]

When fishing flys in the film I'll sometimes use a very small piece of strike indicator putty about 2 feet above the fly. Helps to detect the strike and also I can see what kind of drift I'm getting and mend accordingly.

 

[flyI4]

they also make super super small thingamabobbers now that can be similarly used like the putty. I had used the putty in the past and had problems with it falling off. THe dropper method works, but sometimes the line bunches between the 1st and second fly when you're fishing 2-3'' below the surface(just tailing fish, not actually rising with their nose) and I think the fish see the tippet. Thats why I prefer the little sighter.

 

[mob201]

Seems I've hijacked this thread. My apologies - should have started a new one.

The putty idea is great. Never thought of that. The thing I don't like about a big dry fly as an indicator is that even if you are getting a good drift with the dry, the fly you're fishing in the film (often smaller) is getting dragged around in micro currents. There's no "give" or slack in the leader to minimize the drag on that fly because the "leader" is essentially the short piece of tippet between the dry and the dropper.

The bigger the dry fly in relation to the dropper, the worse this situation will be. (this goes for indicator nymphing as well. You can get a fantastic drift -smooth as a baby's ass- with an enormous bobber and meanwhile, your tiny bead head nymph is being ripped around wildly in currents below the surface)

Anyway, love the suggestion - a small piece of putty or even a leader coil indicator might be the way to go.

 

[Trouser Trout]

The putty idea is great.

and here he is!!!!!