Caddis Larva/Pupa

[djmyers]

If you were going to tie up some caddis larva/pupa flies, what colors would you look at tying? I was thinking of getting some materials to try to tie a woven caddis larva. What color combos would you do?

 

[MKern]

I tie caddis larva in olive with brown thorax, olive with black thorax, tan and brown, and brown and black.

I do have experimental patterns in yellow, orange, shrimp, and a few other colors that can't come to mind right now.


Olive is by far the one I use the most.

 

[jayL]

Walk to your local creek and overturn some rocks. You should see some larva and cases. Break open a case or two and see what color they are. I like olive, green, and tan.

For pupa, look at a hatch chart and see what's hatching and when.

 

[MKern]

All the ones I mentioned above are I tie as free-living caddis.

Cased caddis I tie in green and cream depending on what case style the fly is (wood pulp or stick).

 

[sandfly]

Matt,
If you see little black caddis then you need this to match the larva, Killer on kettle when they come off..

 

[afishinado]

Matt, Sandfly knows his stuff. Little black caddis are very common and very prolific in a lot of PA streams, and Fishing Creek out your way is one. Also the green sedge (Rhyacophila), a fairly large bright green free living caddis is also very big deal on Fishing Creek.

 

[yea-who]

Which one is the grannom caddis?

 

[afishinado]

Yea-who wrote: "Which one is the grannom caddis?"

Neither, grannoms are cased caddis not free living.

 

[sandfly]

Grannom Cased:

 

[Maurice]

I've always been skeptical of the cased caddis patterns. I fish caddis pupae immitating the pupae when it leaves the case to forrage for food but I can't immagine those cases(rocks or chimney)breaking loose and being a viable trout food.

Just sayin.

 

[JustFish]

I like the zug bug for that. A lot of people don't know that the zug bug can immitate a cased caddis among other things

 

[MKern]

Maurice,

I am also scepticle of cases caddis patterns. However, last year I had an increase of hook ups. Mainly on wild fish though. I don't think that stocked fish develop the know of what's inside those sticks/wood pulp/pepples/etc.

It is a fact that fish do eat the cased versions. Like in the "Under Water World of Trout" videos, fish often chew on foliage to extract food particles, this includes cases.
So tie up some algae flies too.

 

[tomgamber]

Peeking Caddis is one of my favorite winter and early spring patterns...Mine look more like this:

But I've had much success and am not skeptical at all...I've taken snails...shell and all...from trout bellies...doesn't surprise me at all they'd eat them.

 

[afishinado]

I too was skeptical, but a while back I caught a bunch of stocked trout and I kept a few for the pan. The stomachs of the fish were bulging and bumpy on the outside. When I opened them up they were stuffed with caddis cases. I have no idea how these fish were able to capture that many caddis cases. Maybe they mistook them for food pellets!

With that being said, I’ve fished a cased caddis pattern with so-so success. Tom G. and Sandfly have convinced me that maybe I’m missing something, and I’ll give them a try again.

Sandfly, nice pattern. What material do you use for the case?

 

[MKern]

I can't answer for sandfly, but I often use the real thing glued together with craft bond adhesive spray. I like the long stick caddis and the grannom wood pulp case (the pebble cases always break when detaching from the bottom of rocks, plus they are stuck fast, so how much washing away really happens with them to be available for trout).

For an imatation case, I use turkey tail and for the insect itself, I use caddis green micro chenelle. I place lead on the shank, Burn the end of the chenelle and tie it extended over the eye of the hook. The I add legs (black saddle hackle or partridge). I then wrap to the back and tie in a 1/4" section of turkey tail. After wrapping the turkey forward I coat it in felximent.

 

[sandfly]

Floss under body, pheasant tail with copper rib, green antron dubbing, and big daddy dubbing(has ruber bands in it for movement)

 

[mediclimber]

I started tying some of LaFontaine's cased patterens out of his book and they look really buggy and accurate. Time will tell if they work though.

 

[yea-who]

I thought it was a blend of different color dubbing you made those cases with......So.........i took a couple different drab twiggy colors of dubbing and put them in the blender to mix them good. It worked great when i learn how to get a good photo of a fly i will show you........now.........for the bad part, i forgot to clean out the blender before she can see. Between the feathers everywhere deer hair clippings,, griffen gnats stuck to her feet, she is going to leave. Boy was she pissed. I ended up cleaning the hole house today and making stuffed shells for dinner. everything is okay for now. till a BWO comes for a ride with me and ends up on here pillow. Oh one more thing she called the Land lord/Uncle and told him we should have a exterminator come in the spring, there not real thats me checking to see if they look real. i plant them here and there you know in the blinds, on high shelves etc. i must be doing something right i guess.

 

[Maurice]

Hey Yea-hoo....learn to appreciate the meaning of the word TOLERANCE....If she is willing to tolerate your "issues" be happy with that. Otherwise, keep your underclothes in the suitcase and your fly rods in the trunk. Otherwise you'll be out on the street, bro.

:lol:

 

[afishinado]

You’re a real piece of work yea-who. Thank God I was single when I caught the FF fever. I scared away a few girlfriends – but that wasn’t really a bad thing.

Mo, gave you some great advice – keep a change of clothes and your FF gear packed and ready at all times, because you never know when you’ll be on the outside looking in...........or the fish are rising like crazy to a blizzard-like hatch on the stream!