Some rivers I fish have ridiculous Caddis hatches and not many mayflies. Who knows why. At those spots, I find that emerger patterns can work very well. On some days, it is the only dropper fly I need all day.
Caddis emerge quickly, which is why takes are often loud and splashy. So, fishing this fly as a dry is worth it, too.
Some of my favorite fly-fishing memories involve fishing this fly to wild fish in Pittsburg, NH. Fish it solo in the surface film, as part of a nymph rig, or as a dropper attached to a X-Caddis dry, and you can be good to go all day up there.
As I’ve posted before, I tie a Caddis Emerger that is based on the Tightline Productions version (here). But, recently, I’ve made a few tweaks. I no longer use a dry fly hook, as I find that some hook sets don’t stick. So, I’ve gone to a curved hook with a wider gape. I also sometimes use CDC rather than Hungarian Partridge.
I like this fly small-ish. Size 16 works when water is quick, but, for slower water, a size 18 is much better.
This fly is super-simple to tie. It is a bit of a “guide fly,” as it takes take little time to make a bunch.
Here is the materials list:
- Hook: TMC 2487, Orvis 1639 or Daiichi 1130 in size 16 or 18
- Bubble: white Z Lon, Antron or NZ strike indicator wool
- Thread: Veevus, black, 12/0
- Body: squirrel, light olive
- Wing/legs: CDC, dark dun
- Thorax: squirrel, brown
Thanks for posting this. I am hoping to head up to Pittsburg myself in Mid June. I will have to tie some up.
Mike
Also, a brown-ish flashback WD-40, size 18, works very well up there during the June/July BWO hatches. Photo:
And, I’m hoping to try out this Baetis pattern this summer:
Man, CDC makes everything look better 🙂
Haha!
Nice ties! I have often been frustrated with caddis hatches and will try a few of these. All my caddis patterns are a size or two larger which may explain something about my failure rate!
Good luck with it. Hope the pattern works for you!
Should work with a small bead on the bottom also