Trout Diet

If you are familiar with Caddis, then you know that there are two kinds of Caddis Larvae.  One is the cased Caddis and the other is the free living Caddis.  There are several patterns and variations for the cased Caddis, but to be honest, unless you are fishing somewhere where you know a cased Caddis pattern is a staple and fishes well, I would reccommend sticking with the tried and true free living Caddis patterns.  From my experience and research, it just seems that trout prefer the latter.

The free living Caddis larva is pretty simple.  There are many different ways of tying this bug, but I find simple is better.  All the patterns share the same basic attribute, a segmented body.  My favorite Caddis to immitate is arguable the most common free living Caddis - the Rhyacophila.  The fly will vary in color from Olive to Chartreuse and is usually tied on a scud hook to accentuate a curve.  Of course, there are other Caddis larva in other colors, but I find this one to be a killer!

Last, but in no way least is the Caddis Pupa.  I love fishing the Caddis Pupa.  The general rule of thumb when fishing below the surface is "fish the bottom."  This it not neccessarily so when fishing emergers.  The Caddis pupa is trying to get to the surface so it can make its final transformation to a mature adult.  Therefore, you can fish this anywhere in the water column. 

Sometimes I fish it near the bottom where it will be my top fly in a two fly rig.  Other times I will tie it on to a dropper dry fly and let it hang out in the surface filml.  It is important to identify where the fish are feeding.  Often times fly fishermen are fooled into thinking the dry hatch is on because of what looks like surface activity.  Try and identify that the trout are actually breaking the surface head first to sip or strike  at what is floating.  You'd be surprised at how frequently they are feeding just below the surface on emergers.   When that's true, the surface action is caused by the trout's back and tail.

I have several caddis pupa that I use and they are all great.  Experiment and see what works for you.  As always it helps to know what is happening at the waters you are going to fish before you get there.  Do your homework, or in the very least, stop in the local fly shop to gather some info and purchase what you didn't know your fly box was missing.

One emerger that I have come to love is the emergent sparkle pupa.  Because of the unique way the antron yarn is tied on this fly, it creates a small chamber around the hook shank that captures air bubbles that will slowly trail the fly as you fish it.  Whether you submerge it or suspend it in the surface film, this fly acts both as a pupa imitation and an attractor.  Get some!

I also carry pupa variations in different colors and different sizes.  They all have segmented bodys, antennae that give a glimpse of their mature form, and often some more definition in their legs.  Try some the next time you go fly fishing (on your line, not in your mouth).

Don't forget to check out Leland and Riverbum for their Caddis Fly selections.

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