In Lafontaine’s great work “Caddisflies”, he states “American fly fisherman have not begun to tap the potential of the caddisfly hatches popping out all around them, and they never will with general fly fishing skills.”
That statement is still true, but at the same time, a well-placed elk hair caddis can and likely will produce a take 6 months out of the year. How complicated do we need to make this stuff? If you read all 336 pages of Caddisflies, and you should, a compelling case for developing a complex framework of caddis species, habitats, imitations, and techniques is made with the promise that this knowledge will greatly improve your angling success. Even though the book is over 40 years old, most anglers today have only developed an elementary understanding of caddis, and dry fly boxes rarely contain more than a few caddis patterns.
For example, there has been a recent resurgence on social media of the bounced caddis technique using a heavily weighted euro jig on the point, with a high floating foam or CDC caddis dry, fished off a tag higher up on the leader. This allows the angler to bounce the rod tip up and down, causing the dry fly to lift up and then crash down on the water surface while remaining anchored by the jig. These videos received much acclaim on Instagram and YouTube, and I admit the content was fun to watch. However, the same tactic was described in 1981 on page 135 of Caddisflies minus the modern Euro spin. Gary highlights the then-forgotten, old-school Euro mindset of fishing a team of flies, effectively anchoring the bouncing dry using a team of wet flies and then animating the entire system with the rod tip to imitate all stages of a caddis hatch in one go. What’s old is new again.
This isn’t to say that there hasn’t been continued focus and innovation in imitating this species, it’s just that trout have been content to eat caddis patterns in the same basic ways we’ve been presenting them for 50+ years. Still, Lafontaine’s contributions, particularly with his Sparkle Pupae series, changed how we tie Caddis pupae patterns forever and helped open the accepted use of synthetic materials for dry flies to a wider audience. If it seems like every dry fly now contains a synthetic material like Antron(sparkle) yarn, you can thank folks like Gary. His Emergent and Deep Sparkle pupae patterns have resulted in more fish than I care to remember over the years, and his other patterns and techniques were so futuristic that even by today’s ridiculous fly-tying standards they still stand out.
“I still have an elementary approach to fishing caddis flies. An Elk Hair or Goddard caddis for most general dry fly angling, a Spent Partridge caddis for picky fish, and the Sparkle Pupae series for emergers.”
Dan Gates
I am lucky to have a beat-up, overused tailwater close to home. It’s a small river, full of brown trout, that get a daily pounding of drop shot rigs, scuds, and euro nymphs. The water here runs cold enough most of the summer to beat the dog days and closures elsewhere in the warming West, and these small browns are eager to eat swung and skated flies. I have fished this river less and less during the summer months each year due to crowding on the river, but we have reacquainted this summer on evening visits to let the dog swim and cool off.
My favorite dry fly rod here is a 7-8’ 3 or 4wt cane rod, but I have started bringing a 10’8” 2wt trout spey for caddis angling. There is rarely a need for a cast of more than 20 feet, but the rod length lets me keep the line off the water during the swing, and I can quickly cover any run with a fixed-length single spey. During July, we experienced some fantastic Caddis hatches with extremely receptive trout. A fast twitched fly resulted in numerous trout cartwheeling and torpedoing after the fly on seemingly every other cast. The hatches have waned, but a recent visit confirmed the fish are still looking for a twitched fly. The bounce becomes no less effective as terrestrials become more prevalent along the river banks. I have found the fly to be relatively insignificant when fishing Caddis hatches with this technique, but my favorites are size 14-16 Little Wangs(Micro Wang), Dyrets, and Elk Hair Caddis. Goddard Caddis are also great, but once the hair gets water-logged, they become useless for staying on top. If I had to pick only one, it would be a size 16 Elk Hair Caddis with a slightly oversized wing.
From a technical standpoint, the fishing is as simple as can be. Casting across the river, I prefer to start at 90 degrees vs. 45 and keep the rod tip high in the air as soon as the fly lands. Generally, I don’t mend, and recommend that as the starting point. However, there are certain situations where a mend might be needed. Start pulsing the rod tip with small but rapid and continuous vibrations. The key here is to move just the tip, you want the fly moving in centimeters or a few inches, nothing more. Avoid the sawing motion you see a lot of folks using with a swung fly. That being said, complex currents and pocket water will require a lot of experimentation to get a good presentation. Have fun, and remember nothing is off limits, especially with smaller water that is void of traditional runs and riffles. The fly should now be waking, skating, and bouncing all over. Keep your eyes on the fly, before long a fish will hopefully appear slashing, cartwheeling, and chasing the fly from the most likely and unlikely spots in the river. Should one manage to take the fly, do not set. As with all swung fly angling, wait until you feel the fish before any attempt to get the fish on the rod. You’ll likely miss a lot of fish, but who cares?
A few nights ago a new memory on this river was etched into my mind. A purple and orange sunset, an Osprey flying overhead, and my dog Rufus happily chewing on a stick. The single spey turned over and the fly landed softly at the junction of two currents. I started pulsing the rod and the Elk Hair caddis came to life, on the third or fourth twitch, a foot-long trout rocketed out of the water. The silhouette of the fish contrasted against the summer sunset as it chased the fly into the air. Upon their return to the water, the reel gave a few clicks and the rod bent against the small trout. The fight was over before it began, but Rufus was happy to meet another fishy friend. I felt a deep joy, not from catching the fish, but the overall intoxication of the moment. The simplicity of everything working as it should; a good cast, a curious trout, and a happy dog. I reeled up and started the walk back to the car, calling my wife to let her know we were coming home. The river had given me all that was needed.