Perfect Caddisflies
Recommended Prerequisites: Perfect Fly
Methods and Techniques
Methods and Techniques
Coming Soon!
You may get by with a typical caddis fly imitation of the right size if the color is close,
but you may not catch anything if you are presenting the wrong type of imitation;
larva, pupa or full grown fly, for the current stage of activity. Even if you get the
stage matched correctly, you need to know how to properly present it to imitate the
behavior that occurs at that stage of life of that particular genera or species of
caddisfly. This fly tying video explains the details.
but you may not catch anything if you are presenting the wrong type of imitation;
larva, pupa or full grown fly, for the current stage of activity. Even if you get the
stage matched correctly, you need to know how to properly present it to imitate the
behavior that occurs at that stage of life of that particular genera or species of
caddisfly. This fly tying video explains the details.
Determining what stage of activity is occurring is not always easy. In fact, determining
whether or not trout are feeding on caddisflies, is usually not easy. About the best clue
you have that trout are feeding on caddis is that when you see trout feeding or rising
but don’t see any bugs. This may indicates that they are feeding on emerging pupae.
whether or not trout are feeding on caddisflies, is usually not easy. About the best clue
you have that trout are feeding on caddis is that when you see trout feeding or rising
but don’t see any bugs. This may indicates that they are feeding on emerging pupae.
Most of the time during a caddis hatch,
you could probably catch some trout
using just one type of fly that
represents the larva. At the right time,
however, you should do much better
fishing a pupa imitation. You may even
do well at times using only the very
popular elk hair caddis of the right size
but don ‘t always count on it. For sure,
however, you would consistently catch
more fish if you closely matched their
larvae, pupae and adult stages including
the egg-laying adults in some cases.
More importantly, is that you would be
much more successful if you presented
the various flies matching those stages
of the life cycle in such a way as to
imitate their behavior.
you could probably catch some trout
using just one type of fly that
represents the larva. At the right time,
however, you should do much better
fishing a pupa imitation. You may even
do well at times using only the very
popular elk hair caddis of the right size
but don ‘t always count on it. For sure,
however, you would consistently catch
more fish if you closely matched their
larvae, pupae and adult stages including
the egg-laying adults in some cases.
More importantly, is that you would be
much more successful if you presented
the various flies matching those stages
of the life cycle in such a way as to
imitate their behavior.
Possible Patterns for each Caddisfly indicated by a
"C"on the above list:
1. Larva uncased L1
2. Larva cased (with some variations) L2
3. Pupa prior to emerging B
4. Pupa accenting to emerge M
5. Pupa shedding shuck E
6. Adult D (dry)
7. Adult divers W (wet)
8. Adult spinners S (spent)
"C"on the above list:
1. Larva uncased L1
2. Larva cased (with some variations) L2
3. Pupa prior to emerging B
4. Pupa accenting to emerge M
5. Pupa shedding shuck E
6. Adult D (dry)
7. Adult divers W (wet)
8. Adult spinners S (spent)
Copyright 2005 James Marsh, All Rights Reserved
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Get Your Ph.D. in Fly-Fishing Right Here!
General:
Welcome to "The Perfect Caddisfly" program. We are pleased to see that you are interested in tying
better caddisfly imitations and "catching more trout". We hope you have viewed our "Imitating
Aquatic Insects - Caddisflies" program. Doing so will give you a better understanding of just why the
imitations were conceived and designed and how they are to be presented. All of the patterns
included in this program are cross-referenced to the groups of caddisflies in the "Imitating" program.
In the event you have not viewed the "Imitating Caddisflies" program, we will give a brief overview
of some key points relative to the imitations.
Larva:
The larvae, both cased and non-cased, are sometimes eaten by trout. If the cased caddisflies have
cases that are normally taken by trout we provide patterns for both types.
Pupa: (emerging)
Many species of caddisflies emerge out in the stream by swimming to the surface. Some emerge near
or on the bottom and some of them emerge in the surface skim. If the caddisfly pupae crawl or swim
to the banks or rocks to emerage, the pupae should still be imitated because trout will eat them as
they do just that. It is important to know the habitats of the specie you are imitating in order to
imitate them the best way. This is usually the most important stage to imitate and of course is most
effective if done during a hatch.
Adults:
At the time the caddisflies are emerging, provided they emerge on the water the adults may be eaten
by trout prior to flying away to streamside vegetation. The adult imitation presented at this time will
work sometimes for some specie but it is usually not as effective as one of the emerger patterns.
Some caddisflies deposit their eggs by dipping their abdomen into the surface skim as they fly just
above the water. They may dip several times to do this or they may just light on the surface to
deposit their eggs. You should imitate these caddisflies using the adult pattern.
If the female dives to lay their eggs, and many of them do, a wet fly pattern is provided to imitate the
fly diving to the bottom and returning to the surface. Sometimes they dive, return to shore and then
repeat the process several times before they die.
Even when the female caddisfly crawls or dives to the bottom to deposit her eggs, she still ends up
as a spent caddisfly, unless eaten by a trout before then. So, a spent pattern is in order any time eggs
are being laid. Usually the spent caddisflies end up in slow moving water or eddies even though the
eggs are usually deposited in riffles or faster moving water. Of course, some end up on the banks out
of the water.
In other words, depending upon just how the caddisflies are depositing their eggs, you may be
imitating the activity with an adult fished on the surface, a diving wet fly imitating those that are laying
their eggs on the substrate and a spent imitation, imitating the dying egg laying adults.
Caddisflies are imitated to a limited extent by anglers but the majority are imitations of the adult,
which in many cases, is the least import stage of life to be imitated. The commercially available diving
adults or wet imitations, and imitations of the larvae and pupae are few and all things considered, far
from being adequate. That is why we think this program will help those who are willing to tie their
own flies and just as important, learn how to use them.
There are only eight (8) basic patterns of caddisflies as such. Everything is just a variation in the color
and size of those eight patterns. Sometimes one pattern will represent an entire family and sometimes
one pattern will represent one genus of a family. In a few cases, one pattern only represents one
species of caddisfly. All together there are forty-three (43) or so specific sets of caddisfly imitations,
again with each of them having up to as many as 8 possible imitations designed for different stages of
life or activities.
Now you may think that is a lot of imitations. Well, it is but all of them would cover just about every
caddisfly hatch on every trout stream or lake in the United States. If you only fish one stream, for
example, you may only need to learn to tie somewhere between four and eight of the sets of
patterns. Again, when you learn to tie one dry fly imitation, for example, keep in mind the others are
just changes in size and color or maybe, depending on the species, a change in the length of or shape
of the wings and/or antennae.
There are fifteen (15) families of caddisflies that are of importance to trout anglers. Two genera of
just one of those families, the Hydropsyche and Ceratopsyche, probably represent over half of all
of them. Of the remaining families, only a few, maybe as few as five or six for example, may be
important in your area of the country. So all in all, learning to tie all the caddisfly imitations you may
need during the year in any one given area of the country is not all that big of a deal. Not nearly as
big of a deal as tying all the mayfly imitations you may use, for example.
Keep in mind that the colors we provide are colors that are typical of the group of caddisflies. In
most cases, they should work just fine. The actual colors of caddisfly larvae, pupae and adults can
vary in different parts of the country, at different times of the year and even, from stream to stream. It
is always recommended that you obtain a sample of the fly, larva or pupa and match the color as
close as possible.
We just promise you one thing. If you will learn to tie and learn to use the caddisfly imitations you
need for the streams you fish, you will catch a lot more trout. You can do so by studying our
"Imitating Aquatic Insects - Caddisflies" program as well as this program. So, lets get on with the fly
tying part of doing just that.
Our alphanumerical identifiers are really simple. For example, C1500D indicates a caddis or (M a
mayfly) (S a stonefly) etc- 1500 represents the Phryganeidae family of caddisflies and D represents
the Dry Adult.
Welcome to "The Perfect Caddisfly" program. We are pleased to see that you are interested in tying
better caddisfly imitations and "catching more trout". We hope you have viewed our "Imitating
Aquatic Insects - Caddisflies" program. Doing so will give you a better understanding of just why the
imitations were conceived and designed and how they are to be presented. All of the patterns
included in this program are cross-referenced to the groups of caddisflies in the "Imitating" program.
In the event you have not viewed the "Imitating Caddisflies" program, we will give a brief overview
of some key points relative to the imitations.
Larva:
The larvae, both cased and non-cased, are sometimes eaten by trout. If the cased caddisflies have
cases that are normally taken by trout we provide patterns for both types.
Pupa: (emerging)
Many species of caddisflies emerge out in the stream by swimming to the surface. Some emerge near
or on the bottom and some of them emerge in the surface skim. If the caddisfly pupae crawl or swim
to the banks or rocks to emerage, the pupae should still be imitated because trout will eat them as
they do just that. It is important to know the habitats of the specie you are imitating in order to
imitate them the best way. This is usually the most important stage to imitate and of course is most
effective if done during a hatch.
Adults:
At the time the caddisflies are emerging, provided they emerge on the water the adults may be eaten
by trout prior to flying away to streamside vegetation. The adult imitation presented at this time will
work sometimes for some specie but it is usually not as effective as one of the emerger patterns.
Some caddisflies deposit their eggs by dipping their abdomen into the surface skim as they fly just
above the water. They may dip several times to do this or they may just light on the surface to
deposit their eggs. You should imitate these caddisflies using the adult pattern.
If the female dives to lay their eggs, and many of them do, a wet fly pattern is provided to imitate the
fly diving to the bottom and returning to the surface. Sometimes they dive, return to shore and then
repeat the process several times before they die.
Even when the female caddisfly crawls or dives to the bottom to deposit her eggs, she still ends up
as a spent caddisfly, unless eaten by a trout before then. So, a spent pattern is in order any time eggs
are being laid. Usually the spent caddisflies end up in slow moving water or eddies even though the
eggs are usually deposited in riffles or faster moving water. Of course, some end up on the banks out
of the water.
In other words, depending upon just how the caddisflies are depositing their eggs, you may be
imitating the activity with an adult fished on the surface, a diving wet fly imitating those that are laying
their eggs on the substrate and a spent imitation, imitating the dying egg laying adults.
Caddisflies are imitated to a limited extent by anglers but the majority are imitations of the adult,
which in many cases, is the least import stage of life to be imitated. The commercially available diving
adults or wet imitations, and imitations of the larvae and pupae are few and all things considered, far
from being adequate. That is why we think this program will help those who are willing to tie their
own flies and just as important, learn how to use them.
There are only eight (8) basic patterns of caddisflies as such. Everything is just a variation in the color
and size of those eight patterns. Sometimes one pattern will represent an entire family and sometimes
one pattern will represent one genus of a family. In a few cases, one pattern only represents one
species of caddisfly. All together there are forty-three (43) or so specific sets of caddisfly imitations,
again with each of them having up to as many as 8 possible imitations designed for different stages of
life or activities.
Now you may think that is a lot of imitations. Well, it is but all of them would cover just about every
caddisfly hatch on every trout stream or lake in the United States. If you only fish one stream, for
example, you may only need to learn to tie somewhere between four and eight of the sets of
patterns. Again, when you learn to tie one dry fly imitation, for example, keep in mind the others are
just changes in size and color or maybe, depending on the species, a change in the length of or shape
of the wings and/or antennae.
There are fifteen (15) families of caddisflies that are of importance to trout anglers. Two genera of
just one of those families, the Hydropsyche and Ceratopsyche, probably represent over half of all
of them. Of the remaining families, only a few, maybe as few as five or six for example, may be
important in your area of the country. So all in all, learning to tie all the caddisfly imitations you may
need during the year in any one given area of the country is not all that big of a deal. Not nearly as
big of a deal as tying all the mayfly imitations you may use, for example.
Keep in mind that the colors we provide are colors that are typical of the group of caddisflies. In
most cases, they should work just fine. The actual colors of caddisfly larvae, pupae and adults can
vary in different parts of the country, at different times of the year and even, from stream to stream. It
is always recommended that you obtain a sample of the fly, larva or pupa and match the color as
close as possible.
We just promise you one thing. If you will learn to tie and learn to use the caddisfly imitations you
need for the streams you fish, you will catch a lot more trout. You can do so by studying our
"Imitating Aquatic Insects - Caddisflies" program as well as this program. So, lets get on with the fly
tying part of doing just that.
Our alphanumerical identifiers are really simple. For example, C1500D indicates a caddis or (M a
mayfly) (S a stonefly) etc- 1500 represents the Phryganeidae family of caddisflies and D represents
the Dry Adult.
