Actually I am aware the LaFountaine’s diving caddis pattern. Of the three LaFountaine patterns for caddis, the diving caddis is the least effective for me, especially during a grannom hatch. The deep pupa works well in the hours before the hatch. During the hatch the emergent sparkle pupa is the ticket. The diving caddis is supposed to the represent the returning egg-laying adult. I find the ESP works well in that situation, as well as an EH caddis skittered on the surface, or you can use a delta wing type caddis for dead / dying adults. Overall the diving caddis pattern hasn’t fished well for me.
The last link that TomGamber posted with the extended body looks interesting. The extended body appears to be made of vernille or ultra chenille. I may try that pattern
I think that 90% of the fisherman that have heard of Lafountaine’s caddis patterns use the DSP & ESP.
BTW, I tie two colors for grannoms in both ESP and DSP – brown & bright green for the lighter species and black for the darker species both in size 14-18.
Attached great info on grannoms that I found and posted on another FF site:
The following info was posted by Lloyd Gonzales, the author of "Fly-Fishing Pressured Water." It is by far the best explanation of the PA grannom (Brachycentrus species) I have ever read. I was also confused. What Fly fishermen call grannoms around here range from black to dark green to bright green. His explanation follows:
Grannom, American Grannom, Shadfly, Apple Caddis, Mother's Day Caddis, and Black Caddis are all common names applied to Brachycentrus species. Mother's Day Caddis is the most common Western nickname for Brachycentrus occidentalis, a Western "grannom," but I have also heard this name applied generally to "grannoms" here in the East.
In PA, it is useful to think of "dark grannoms" and "light grannoms." The species your flies are imitating are more typical of the dark grannoms. The "apple caddis" is a light grannom.
Most of the important (PA) Brachycentrus species have overlapping hatch periods, so either dark or light imitations (or both) can be called for, depending on the stream.
Here's my current breakdown for important PA species:
Brachycentrus numerosus--Penn's Creek Caddisfly, Dark Grannom, Dark Shadfly; adults have dark-mottled wings and dark blackish green bodies; pupae usually dark with green lateral stripes and dark wingcases.
Brachycentrus lateralis--Striped Grannom, Dark Grannom, Black Caddis; adults have dark wings and pupae are typically dark olive with tan lateral stripes and dark wingcases.
Brachycentrus nigrosoma--Little Dark Grannom, Little Black Caddis; adults/pupae are smaller and darker than numerosus.
Brachycentrus appalachia--Apple Caddis, Light Shadfly, Light Grannom; adults have very light tannish or grayish wings (almost white when freshly emerged) and apple green bodies; pupae are apple green with tan wingcases.
(Brachycentrus solomoni and incanu are also found in PA)
Most "grannom" activity in PA occurs from mid-April to mid-May. During that time, if you carry imitations of dark and light grannoms (adults and pupae) in sizes #14-16, you should have most bases covered.
You are right that the adult imitations are seldom very good during the emergence (pupa or emerger patterns are best). During the egg-laying activity, however, they are often very effective. The fish may prefer skittered, dead-drifted, or wet adult imitations depending upon the concentrations around their lies.
Lloyd Gonzales
Author of Fly-Fishing Pressured Water
