One fly that has been consistently productive for me has been the Caddis Emerger pattern up top. Once I see some caddis popping off, I put it on.
During my recent outing to Pittsburg, NH, this fly really worked. I fished it as a dry fly one time, when I saw some trout swimming around in a shallow and quiet pool. The Elk Hair dry? They ignored it. The Picket Pin wet fly? They gave it a good look but refused it. Ditto with some regular nymphs. This fly? On the first cast, one trout shot up and just crushed it.
Welcome to the net, My Pretty (bwaa haa haa).
Fished behind a weighted beadhead nymph, it has been Pop Rocks for trout. I particularly like to let the tandem rig rise at the end of a drift, to mimic insects rising to the surface. I find that many large trout hang out at the end of a pool, where the food tends to collect in a narrow channel. Or, they hang out right in front of a large rock or under fallen branches.
So, when I work a run, I make sure that this fly rises in front of the structure or the end of a pool. Be prepared for a vicious strike!
The fly is food that trout recognize. The chartreuse body mimics the many green caddis pupa that I’ve stomach-pumped from trout. The soft hackle looks like legs and antennae. The white Antron, when wet, can appear to be the air bubble insects use to rise to the surface.
Here is the recipe, which is based on the video at the bottom of this post:
Thread: brown or olive
Air bubble: white Antron
Body: chartreuse ice dub
Hackle: Hungarian Partridge
Head: dark brown squirrel
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