Caddis Pupae Immitations

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Wmass

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Sep 17, 2006
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I was wondering if anyone has found alot of success with the antron yarn caddis pupae immitations? Are they good to have in the box?

I have all the materials to tie these myself but I don't really know the technique to make the body look approriate. If anyone could help me out with some tips or a recipe it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
Yes, I like them too. Especially when you see caddis everywhere and no rises. (it happens)
 
Hey Jack, I've tied these using sparkle yarn but as soon as they get wet it gets all pasted to the body and the pattern looks like a drowned nothing!!! Can the yarn be waxed or something??
 
As long as you aren't using anything absorbant they should get a nice bubble when subsurface. Either water or air if you're lucky. How do you know thay are all pasted to the body when they are under water? I'm not saying they are not but I've never had that problem.
 
I know that Andre and I were fishing for salmon in Maine a few years back and the salmon were eating them like candy. And we're talking some very big salmon.
 
The LaFontaine emergent sparkle pupa and deep sparkle pupa are by far my #1 pattern for caddis hatches, and I use it as a general searching pattern. I have yet to see properly tied ESP or DSP for sale at any fly shop.

“I've tied these using sparkle yarn but as soon as they get wet it gets all pasted to the body and the pattern looks like a drowned nothing!!!”

PaJ - One of the most important things about tying the ESP or DSP is to cut the sparkle yarn into short pieces for dubbing (less than ¼” long) and LOOSELY dub it on the hook. Gary LaFontaine called it touch dubbing. The sparkle yarn used as the veil should be combed out and tied LOOSELY over the abdomen.

It’s really worth tying this pattern. If tied correctly, it is killer. IMO, LaFountaine’s book “Caddisflies” is a must have book for any serious fly fisherman.
 
Sometimes these work great. I don't count that well, but I recall one occassion when in one hour, between 5 pm and 6 pm, I landed about 12 trout and missed at least as many, without ever moving from where I was standing, on one of those antron sheathed pupae patterns. If it got it in the main line of current I got a strike on nearly every drift.

This was tied on a #18 hook, so pretty small, when the tan caddis of early May were hatching. The adult caddis are a #16. I've found on other occassions also that tying these pupae pretty small, pretty sparse, often yields good results.

I haven't had much luck with these during the Grannom hatch, though, so if I anyone has got THAT mystery figured out, I'm all ears.
 
Troutbert,
I can’t say I have the grannom hatches completely figured out, but I use the LaFountaine emergent and deep sparkle pupa with good results.

It depends which species of Grannoms(Brachycentrus) you are referring to – for dark grannoms I use a black #14-16 ESP for rising fish and a black DSP down deep. Light grannoms (sometimes called apple caddis) I use a brown and bright green ESP up top, or a DSP down deep.

I have 110% more luck with the ESP on grannoms than adult caddis imitations.
 
Thanks Afishinado for the Grannom tips. I've mostly fished the hatch on Fishing Creek, and have found it pretty frustrating. I'll give those patterns a try.
 
A soft hackle, with peacock body sometimes produces with the grannom...Penns. Fish it on the swing.
 
I'll agree with a soft hackle peacock body during the grannom hatches. I sometimes will add a bright green beed to the pattern also. They work great! I have not had luck with any of the sparkle pupa patterns for the most part but I know I gota just keep trying them more often when the caddis hatches are going on.
 
Troutbert,

I don't know which Fishing Creek you are refering to, but I've had success using the ESP & DSP in both the Columbia County(Benton) and Clinton County (Lamar) Fishing Creeks.
 
I would say they are definitely a "must have" pattern. There have been many days when they saved my day. Like any pattern, there are also days when they don't work real well. Depends on the conditions.

As far as the question about the yarn matting together, this is not a problem. When they are in the water I guess it kind of billows out. The important thing is that it looks like the pupal shuck/casing of an emerging caddis. I have "sparkle yarn" that I got from a distributor that is closely aligned with LaFontaine (thebookmailer.com), and it is softer than the antron you normally get from fly shops. It doesn't hold it's bubble shape when it's wet (out of the water), but it works great.

Here's some tying tips from Paul Stimpson, who has been in videos with LaFontaine:

"The Emergent Sparkle Pupa is Gary's most popular fly pattern, however, I have found it is also the fly most often tied incorrectly. I have listed what I think are the most common mistakes and how to correct them:
Over-body is too thick. The body of Antron yarn must be sparse on this fly. You have to be able to see the under body through the over body. Gary's pattern calls for one ply of antron for the top and one ply for the bottom. On a size 12 hook, one ply is too much, I always pull a few fibers out of the ply for a #12 and a few more for a #14. When I tie a #16 or #18 I'll use half a ply.
Under-body must use a fur and antron mixture. Most of the ESPs I've seen lately have just Antron touch-dubbed for the under body. Because Antron is translucent (light passes through), If a trout is looking up it may mistake your fly for an empty nymphal shuck. Even a young trout will soon find out there are not enough calories in a shuck to make it a worthwhile bite. With a blend of fur and antron touch-dubbed, the body becomes more opaque and most closely resembles the newly hatched caddis.
Deer or elk hair wing is too sparse. Remember, this fly floats in the surface film. If the wing is too sparse, the weight of the hook and Antron body will pull it under the surface. The fly needs to be tied with enough hair to float. I put fly floatant on the wing but not on the Antron body. This enables the wing to be visible and the body to sinkjust under the film.
One more thought on the ESP. A fishing tip I got from Gary years ago. On a good caddis stream or lake, when nothing is going on on the surface, use the ESP as a searching pattern. Trout are used to seeing caddis all summer long and the reflective quality of this fly makes it a great attractor."

If you are interested in learning a whole lot more about caddis and how to use them to catch trout, I would highly recommend getting a copy of "Caddisflies" by Gary LaFontaine.
 
So Wulff-Man kind of answered his version of how he fishes them (the ESP in the film) but is this how everyones fishes the ESP or do some of you swing them as wets and does the DSP get fished like a nymph dragged along the bottom? I gota learn some better uses for these flies. I have not found them successful but I'm bound and determined to figure them out now.
 
The ESP can be effectively used by swinging them like wets. The movement and sometimes a bit of a bobbing action imitate an emerging caddis very well. I ususally fish them dead drifted because I just like fishing "dries" this way, but if that doesn't work I'll try swinging them or twitching them.

The DSP is fished like a nymph. It can also be very effective. Often I will use them as a dropper from an ESP during a caddis hatch. Just use the right size and color. Or just use them as a searching pattern if there are no other hatches going on, especially on streams with decent caddis populations, of course.
 
Wulff Man covered the DSP & ESP thoroughly. Let the fish decide – dead drift or swing. Caddis are the most prevalent insect on most PA streams. I have not found a pattern more effective than these flies for caddis. During a hatch, with the right size and color, you can vacuum up the stream. It’s also a great searching pattern, but it must be tied correctly.
 
Well thanks for the input from all you guys.

I started tying them the other night and got about a dozen nice ones finished. I was also able to work out some of the problems I was having before with the advice posted by WULFMAN.


One question I had though was if the ESP could be tied without the hair wing? And whether it would be successful?

I tied some with wings and some without. I am also going to tie some with CDC for wing material. What do you guys think?
 
Wmass,

The answer is yes it will work. I sometimes run out of DSPs and I tie on an ESP with a split shot. The deep sparkle pupa is basically the same as the emergent sparkle pupa without the wing, and with partridge hackle tied on each side for legs. It should be tied weighted. Attached is a tutorial for the ESP, and a picture of the DSP from LaFountaine’s site and another site. They don’t look like much more than a bunch of belly button lint on a hook, like most of Lafountaine’s flies, but they really work. I recommend Gary’s two books: “Caddisflies” which is an extensive study of caddis flies, and “Trout Flies,” which is a listing of Gary’s off beat patterns. Good luck.

http://hipwader.com/2003/emergent-sparkle-pupa

http://www.thebookmailer.com/Flies/Emergers/body_deepsparklepupa.html

http://members.tripod.com/stevenojai/sparpupa.htm
 
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