It was a good day in Boise on the southfork this Saturday, the sun was shinning and the weather warmed up great!!! There were tons of Midges on the water.
I saw some big trout bounding out of the water after bugs on the surface in the slack water, at least I thought that at the time, I figured that midges were pooling together in a nice eddie and the big fish were on them. I also saw a goofy flying big bug, but thought to myself, “Must be a Moth.”.
I saw the same thing in a different hole as well with slower and slack water.
I could not interest the fish in my midge immitations.
After catching two 18"+ fish on a (Squirl Zonker I tied myself) streamer and one 20" on a little 18 pheasant tail, I was heading to the car when I reached up and caught one of those goofy flying bugs.
It was an October Caddis!!!
I could just kick myself.
The fish must have been chasing the emerging Caddis!! I can not think of another reason for such a big fish to be jumping so high out of the water, when the water was actually pretty cold. The first two fish I caught early morning on the streamer were almost lethargic.
Has anyone seen October Caddis hatch in February?
It was a good day, I caught three rainbows ranging in size from 18" to 20", and a 16" whitefish.
I guess I can’t complain.
One side note, I turned over a rock to look at the bugs and found a NZ Mudsnail. That really stinks :evil:
Were there a lot of them and is your couch comfortable? Wow, no, I’ve never seen the big Caddis in Feb. but I want to Nderda ! I’ve seen them in August and in late November/early December. Nothing is impossible I guess. I’d be back there the next day if I’d have even left at all.
I was freaked out, I tell ya! It was not a big hatch. I only saw three in the air at most at the same time.
I post on a board of locals and one guy said it had to of been a stone fly, but it’s wings went right into the tent while I was holding it in the palm of my hand and the body segmentation was not like the stone.
The next day was sunday and I went to church so no fallow up, also it was ten degrees colder.
I just read a fallow up post of a guy who fished the same streatch Sunday, and he confirmed.
What color were the wings? Were they patterned/marked/mottled, or uniform in color? What color was the body, particularly the abdomen? What color were the legs? How about long was it, from front of head to back of wings?
I would have been freaked out too…and I ALWAYS have big caddis patterns with me and I’d have been covering what little hatch there was in a heartbeat…well, once I stopped trembling and could tye my caddis pattern on ! What a fluke…looks like the scientists are wanting to know too !
Someone on the Boise board posted that the caddis were probably Hesperophylax. I think that makes more sense, I was too excited to look too closely at the caddis. They said they have seen a sporadic hatch of Hesperophylax in past years.
They said they are about 1.5" long, and that is about right. I wish I was a tad more observant, but it was getting dark and cold and I was heading home.
Anyone have more info on Hesperophylax?
quote “Hesperophylax, Silver Stripe Sedge. aprox 1 3/8 inches long. sporadic late winter hatchers.
we have seen them hatch on the south fork this time of year. sposed to be nocturnal hatchers but who knows.”
As far as the snails, from the size and shape of the snail I believe so. The fish and game will fallow up and let me know. I hope I am just crying that the sky is falling.