Emerging Caddis?

[dryflyguy]

I was fishing a really nice pool on the little juniata river earlier this week. And the fish were rising everywhere to a tan caddis hatch.
But they weren't taking many of the bugs on the surface. Most of the action consisted if very splashy rises to the bugs as they were emerging. And they were definitely keyed in on insects that were moving.
I did pretty well on them the first day I fished there by twitching a fluttering caddis imitation over them - although many of the fish still refused my offering.
I stopped back the next day, to find the fish still rising very well.
However, I could hardly catch a fish then. And I tried several different patterns. They even refused a Lafontaine sparkle emerger
twitched just under the surface.
Of course, I - and the other guys I was fishing there with - blamed this on the fish being "smartened" up by being fished over pretty hard.
But they were still feeding on those caddis very well.

I've seen fish do this many times over the years. And I've never been able to quite figure out a technique - or certain pattern - to take them well in this situation.
Just wondering if anyone else has come up with an answer for it

 

[jayL]

I like cdc caddis for this. Make sure it's got a good brushing with frog's fanny for the air bubble effect, then pull it under before it gets to a rising fish. The cdc will take it back to the surface, get stuck in the film, then pop through.

Or wet flies, but I'll spare you that discussion.

 

[Acristickid]

Yep, wets. Good one, Jay.

 

[David]

I remember running into the exact same problem a couple years ago @ the 2nd bridge above baree. I did relatively better after switching to the same fly 2 sizes smaller making much longer down stream drifts. I would drift it just to the side of a riser, then skitter it a foot up and to the side to put it on his nose.
I do not recall the rational on why I went that route...perhaps I noticed a masking hatch, perhaps my thinking was similar to your buddies' that they were wising up in which case I usually go smaller, perhaps it was a lucky ending in an exercise in futility. I don't remember for sure.

 

[Acristickid]

Did expereince the caddis last week also.

Bout 50/50 with my sucess. Some took skittered, some took dead drifts. Think each fish was keyed in on different signals.

If I did'nt get them on dries along the banks- I did'nt have success with the leadwing either because I could'nt get the drifts right with those sippers along the bank. The ones in faster water did respond pretty well.

 

[govtmule]

for calmer water try soft hackles like a few turns of partridge or something else, it moves naturally and buggy....i dont think a leadwing would be good for the calmer water but thats my opinion....

 

[RowJimmy]

In the softer water try a spent caddis. I've stopped fishing the adult and emerging caddis patterns all together unless I am fishing for fish that aren't pressure which is pretty rare. I think the fish know what a dead caddis is just like they know what a spinners is and will willingly eat the dead ones over the alive ones anyday.

 

[govtmule]

good advice RowJimmy....if you dont have a spent you can also fish the soft hackle like a dry

 

[nymphingmaniac]

as others have wrote softhackles.

Compared to SHs, the lafontaine is not very effective IMO.

 

[tennjed]

most times a graphic caddis works for me when the sparkle pupa fails

 

[BelAirSteve]

govtmule wrote:
good advice RowJimmy....if you dont have a spent you can also fish the soft hackle like a dry

Yep...grease it a bit to keep it in the film.

 

[troutbert]

Be sure you are using the right size.

In the spring a size 16 tan bodied caddis is a common hatch.

In summer a caddis hatches that looks almost identical, but it's an 18, and it can make a big difference to the trout.

 

[dryflyguy]

troutbert wrote:
Be sure you are using the right size.

In the spring a size 16 tan bodied caddis is a common hatch.

In summer a caddis hatches that looks almost identical, but it's an 18, and it can make a big difference to the trout.

I tried #14 and #16 flies, even though the naturals appeared to be #14. I really don't think size was the problem
What was needed is a way to imitate the flies as they ascend to the surface. I saw quite a few rises where the fish missed the fly, and once it got on the water's surface - they wouldn't touch it. They were definitley keyed on emergers in motion.
Once of my buddies that I talked about it with later that day, suggested that maybe a leisenring lift might have worked.

 

[afishinado]

Good thread. It's often tough to fool fish are chasing emerging caddis. The Lafountaine ESP & DSP work well for me most times. I also try SHs and CDC&Es. Realistically imitating the movement of an emerging insect is a difficult thing. If all that fails, RowJimmy may be right, eff the pupa and fish a spent caddis or go back to the truck for a cold one.

 

[wsender]

afishinado wrote:
Good thread. It's often tough to fool fish are chasing emerging caddis. The Lafountaine ESP & DSP work well for me most times.

Tom,

Do you have a recipe for the LeFountaine caddis's?

 

[troutbert]

Try the Lafontaine pupae pattern, with the antron shuck, and tie them small and sparse.

There are times when these have been amazingly effective. And there are other times when they haven't worked at all, and I don't really know why.

But the times when they really did work well are memorable. I remember a time fishing these when the tan caddis were hatching, and standing at one spot, where a riffle flowed into a pool, and for about an hour getting a strike on nearly every cast.

I saw a pupae that failed to open floating downstream on the surface one time during the tan caddis hatch. They are much smaller than I expected from looking at the adult, and are very compact, like a little seed pod.

I think you can tie them pretty small, sparse, and simplified.

 

[afishinado]

troutbert wrote:
Try the Lafontaine pupae pattern, with the antron shuck, and tie them small and sparse.

There are times when these have been amazingly effective. And there are other times when they haven't worked at all, and I don't really know why.

But the times when they really did work well are memorable. I remember a time fishing these when the tan caddis were hatching, and standing at one spot, where a riffle flowed into a pool, and for about an hour getting a strike on nearly every cast.

I saw a pupae that failed to open floating downstream on the surface one time during the tan caddis hatch. They are much smaller than I expected from looking at the adult, and are very compact, like a little seed pod.

I think you can tie them pretty small, sparse, and simplified.

Me too Troutbert. There have been times when I hit it right fishing the ESP, and caught every fish I covered plus many I didn't know were there. I've also nymphed up dozens and dozens of trout with the DSP when nothing else would take a fish.

One other thing. I tie mostly with the original antron material used for the fly. It is my understanding that the original "tri-global" antron that Gary used is no longer made. I have no idea if that makes the difference, but great advice, Troutbert about tying them sparse and small.

 

[jdaddy]

wsender wrote:

afishinado wrote:
Good thread. It's often tough to fool fish are chasing emerging caddis. The Lafountaine ESP & DSP work well for me most times.

Tom,

Do you have a recipe for the LeFountaine caddis's?

DSP

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

ESP

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

 

[jayL]

The iris caddis. I tied a bunch of these in montana for the black caddis hatch, and they were killer. I fished them in tandem with every other caddis pattern I had, and the iris caught fish like 5-1 over them. I tied it with peacock herl and dun antron.

I find it to be easier to tie than the lafontaines, and haven't found it to be any less effective, but I also agree with troutbert about the hit or miss nature of these kind of patterns. My experience could be yet another anomaly

 

[dryflyguy]

troutbert wrote:
Try the Lafontaine pupae pattern, with the antron shuck, and tie them small and sparse.

There are times when these have been amazingly effective. And there are other times when they haven't worked at all, and I don't really know why.

But the times when they really did work well are memorable. I remember a time fishing these when the tan caddis were hatching, and standing at one spot, where a riffle flowed into a pool, and for about an hour getting a strike on nearly every cast.

I saw a pupae that failed to open floating downstream on the surface one time during the tan caddis hatch. They are much smaller than I expected from looking at the adult, and are very compact, like a little seed pod.

I think you can tie them pretty small, sparse, and simplified.

As mentioned in my original post, I do have some lafontaine sparkle emergers, and tried them. And I think it did catch one fish for me, if I remember correctly.
But it certainly wasn't the answer that day