Last year (it was in June I believe) I was fishing a local river when I noticed that the fish were taking something just below the surface. I tried a few favourite patterns, but they didn’t produce much.
At one point, I moved into shallower water, and that’s when I noticed that my legs were covered in hundreds of little dark caddis flies. Although I switched to an Elk Hair Caddis, there were still few takes (as I said, the feeding seemed to be just below the surface).
Can anyone suggest:
a black caddis dry pattern (or is that as simple as turning everything in an Elk Hair Caddis pattern black)?
If they’re taking just below the surface, try a LaFontaine Sparkle Pupa Emerger (gray or black) or a simple soft hackle with gray, purple, or black body and a turn or two of partridge feather. Fish them dead drift across stream and let them swing straight downstream of you. Trout like to hit 'em on that swing.
I like to fish a starling and herl when the fish are feeding on emerging caddis. It usually is very effective in a 16-18 on a TMC 900BL. Just what works for me here in the south
lets go fishin
Antron Midge
…fly tying is the next best thing to fishing; it is the sort of licking of the lips that eases a thirsty man in the desert
A couple of years ago a fellow from Maine that posted on this board sent me a couple of killer caddis emergers that he tied.
They were pretty much a tent winged caddis dry minus any hackle except for a beard of hackle underneath.
He sent me some in a dun gray color with mottled wings and they seem to work for any color caddis. Slow sporadic twitches really help to draw strikes.
A simple black partridge hackled wet fly will work too. And try a CDC caddis in black. Pull it under just before it swings in front of a fish and flip a little slack line out. Hang on when the thing pops back to the surface and a fish slams it.
Don’t know were you are ? But I use a pattern that I have tied for many years that works very well on the small Black Caddis that comes off the rivers out here. It is very easy to tie
Hook- To size Out here we tie them in #18’s 20’s and 22’s
Body is Black Flash-Abou. Just wrapped around the hooks to cover the shank.
Wing- Black CDC as long as the body.
Hackle- Two turns of Black hackle to size. We at times will trim the hackle on the underside to get the fly to float flush on the surfae if the fish are being picky.
An Emerger for this fly is the same tie on a curved hooks like a Scud hook. Just tie the wing about half the body length and one torn of hackle. Add 3 or so strands of the black CDC on the tail as a trailing shuck. Real easy.
This pattern also works very well as a midge pattern. That is one reason I think it works so well. I do tie a bunch of both styles each year for orders. Never have given it a name. People that order it just ask for the black caddis. I also tie it in other colors for midges. Ron
I once hosted a Black Caddis Swap and here were the entries:
Sheldon - Little Snowshoe Caddis
Aaron - Polywing Caddis sz18
Dale - Black Caddis Larvae
Richard - Black Klinkhamer Special
Jerry - Little Black Caddis
Bob G - Starling & Black sz16
Bob M - Black CDC & Elk Caddis
Stephen - Fisher Caddis
Alan - Michigan black caddis sz16
Tim - BlacX-caddis sz18
Steven - Tape Wing Black Caddis
Frank - Fred’s Caddis sz16
Myself - Peacock Caddis Wet sz16
Wing:Black or gray hen hackle on Scotch tape, cemented (recommend a fleximent or a artist spray that protects watercolor paintings surface), folded, and clipped to shape.
Parnelli’s Notes I like to tie a small dismeter collar, right behind the eye of the hook (ahead of the wing). This fly is designed to have the body sit in the water surface.
I wrote a “Tying Tip” article, titled “Caddisfly”, which is listed in the “Tying Tip Archive List” as “Caddis Wing”
