My Favorite Flies – Part III

March 30, 2020

We are in the beginning of the 2nd week of mandatory "shelter-in-place" orders here in Colorado. So this week there will be no fishing for me and I have time for part three of My Favorite Flies series.

This one covers the caddis fly. According to Pat Dorsey’s Fly Fishing Guide to the South Platte River, and John Barr's, Barr Flies - there are more than 1,400 species of caddis flies in North America. They alone out number the combined midge and mayflies populations.

Puterbaugh Caddis

(Tied by yours truly)

Caddis go through a complete metamorphous and are segmented into 5 different groups. The groups are: free living, case builders, net-spinning, saddle-case, pure-case, and tube-case. For identification purposes, the larva stage is the most distinctive between the groups. Caddis are part of the Trichoptera order. Trichoptera is derived from Greek words meaning “hair and wing”. All the adults – regardless of the group - look like moths. They vary in size and color – but can be easily imitated. (That is, if you’re an experienced fly tier – me not included!).

The caddis’ life cycle – including all groups - is about 1 year, with most of their life spent in the larva stage. Once the larva mature, they build a cocoon and begin to pupate – with pupation lasting between 3 and 8 weeks. As the pupa matures, it chews through the larval cocoon and swims to the surface. Once on the surface the pupal shuck splits and the caddis emerge as adults. They remain on the surface until their wings dry and they are able fly. Adult males then form mating swarms that attract females, with mating taking place on streamside vegetation. The females then lay their eggs on the surface of the water – or subsurface on rocks or submerged vegetation. The adult stage lasts from 1 to 4 weeks.

If this seems complicated – it is! At least it is if you want to be proficient in being able to identify which caddis are hatching and matching them with the correct fly pattern. I’ve just begun to study them – referencing books by John Barr (Barr Flies), Jim Schollmeyer (Hatch Guide for Western Streams), and Pat Dorsey (Fly Fishing Guide to the South Platte River) - and have tied a few of their patterns. Also Brian and I have begun to seine the water on our trips and this definitely helps with larva identification and when trying to imitate them on the vise.

What we’ve found in the seine on the Arkansas in Pueblo, and the South Platte at Deckers and 11 Mile Canyon - are what looks like Green Rock Worm Larva (Free Living Caddis) and Spotted Sedge Larva (Net Builders). I’ve also found American Grannoms, which are case builders on the Arkansas near Salida. According to Pat Dorsey, these are the three types of caddis that are important to the fly fisher on the South Platte River drainage.

Looks like a Net Builder - in the Arkansas River at the Pueblo Tailwater.

To simplify things – the larva and pupa are usually either green or a brown to tannish color – which helps when tying, as you can focus on a few flies with these colors. The larva of all three of these types of caddis can be found in the rivers throughout the year and are not good swimmers. In fact they frequently become dislodged either on their own from over crowding (referred to as “behavioral drift”) or when they get knocked off the substrate they are attached to (referred to as “catastrophic drift”). So trout will feed on them throughout the year opportunistically when present. They all go through their pupation to adulthood from May to October – so these are good times to fish the pupa and adult imitations.

Last year was actually the first time that I’ve tied and fished any caddis larva and pupa – with limited success. As I’ve been reading, and talking with other tiers and guides about different techniques to fish these patterns – I’m hoping to increase my skill level.

The two larva patterns that I’ve tied and used so far imitate the Green Rock Worm and Net Spotted Sedge larva. I can’t say that any of these are my favorite yet – but I will keep working with them to see if they begin to regularly produce.

Top row - 3 variations of the Buckskin. 2nd Row - Brassie, and 2 variations of a Hydropsyche Caddis. 3rd row - Brown Caddis Larva, Hydropsyche, and Soft Hackle Green Larva.

(I tied the Buckskins, 1st 2 Hydropsyches, and the Brown Caddis Larva)

John Barr developed the Graphic Caddis which imitates a caddis in the pupa stage. In his Barr Flies book, John explains that this fly is most effective when fished as a dropper behind an adult imitation in a dead drift and when letting the line “swing” at the end of the drift. I plan to use this technique later this spring when the caddis begin to hatch. I've just started tying the Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear and I'm looking forward to trying this spring.

Top Row: Tan and Green Graphic Caddis. 2nd row: Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear and Green Graphic Caddis.

You can tell when the trout are feeding on adult caddis – as you will hear and see splashy, aggressive fish feeding on them. This is so because the adults flitter on the surface as their wings dry – they are not stationary. So the fish hit them very aggressively. The only other fly that I’ve seen trout hit so aggressively are the Crane Fly – which act similar to the adult caddis when drying their wings.

One of my most memorable outings catching fish on adult caddis was last year in the Cheesman Canyon. I was in the lower canyon just upstream from the Wigwam Club’s private water. It was later in the afternoon and the fish were starting to steadily rise to adult caddis. As I was moving into the Family Hole I ran into a guide that I new from many years ago by the name of Monroe Coleman. Monroe is a well known and respected guide, and considered an expert on the South Platte River in the Cheesman Canyon. I still had nymphs rigged up when I stopped to chat with Monroe. He took one look at my setup and said “get that shit off there – and put on some dries”! Spoken as only a true a guide would – they are direct and to the point, leaving no room for misinterpretation. And is appreciated by fishermen like me!

So after chatting with Monroe and changing up my rig – I waded into the water about 5 feet from the bank and began to walk downstream – letting my fly dead drift ahead of me into the pockets along the way. The fly I had on was a Puterbaugh Caddis – which is definitely my favorite dry caddis fly. My plan was to move downstream to the cable that delineates the private water of the Wigwam Club from the public water in the canyon.

On the way, what ended up being a 19” female cutthroat stuck her head up and sipped my fly. I was watching this in what seemed like slow motion – and after she quietly went back under the water – I then realized that I’d better set the hook. Which I did, and after some convincing – was able to net her. So this trout did not aggressively smack the fly – as I explained in the above paragraph - just goes to show you that in trout fishing, nothing is an absolute!

As I was working my way back upstream, I hooked up and landed a nice Rainbow that was feeding in the shallow water at the river's edge, and a couple of nice Brownies feeding in the riffles at the head of the Family Hole. All on the Puterbaugh.

A little later I ran into Monroe in the Ice Box section. He was getting ready to hike out – and I was too – but there was what looked like a rather large trout aggressively feeding out in front of us. I boldly told Monroe that before leaving, I was going to go catch that trout. I casted to that fish about 4 times and at the end of my last drift that trout hit my fly as aggressively as any other trout ever had. I in turn set the hook – equally aggressively. I’m sure you can guess the result – yep, line snapped, one of my favorite flies gone, fish gone!! Well – at least Monroe had a good laugh!

When they’re hitting adult caddis – it is definitely one of the most exciting times to fly fish. It is very hard – for me anyway - to keep your cool and not over react to their aggressiveness. I’ve caught many trout on the Puterbaugh – from small Brownies and Brookies on the Colorado River at it’s headwater in the Rocky Mountain Park (where there are no known caddis hatches by the way!) – to that 19” Cutthroat, and many in between, on many different rivers.

Puterbaugh Caddis and Elk Hair Caddis

(I tied the Puterbaugh)