Subhead
Sometimes it takes a gentle nudge to realize that what is sought after is not always what matters and not always what makes the difference. Last week on the way back to camp while climbing a steep two track cut into the side of the coulee, a fragrance stopped me in my tracks. The late afternoon sun had warmed the hill side below the trail creating an up draft lifting the moist earthy smells of spring that carried along the delicate bouquet of chokecherry blossoms.
The white flowery clusters of blossoms and the small stature of trees did not readily catch my attention, for I was tired and heading home, oblivious to the ordinary, the ordinariness of spring. Fortunately my olfactory senses caused me to pause and climb down the slope to realize the fragrance’s origin and there they were, not rare or unique, just one of many God given gems of spring where trout live.
Hatch charts and a local website declared it is time for Spotted Sedge caddis to be flitting about and targets for hungry trout, thereby becoming the intended basis of fishing success. The tan caddis designation covers a multitude of caddis, which are also known as Tan Caddis, Little Sister Sedge and Green Sedge, all belonging to the Hydropsychidea Family.
These critters inhabit small to mid-sized streams where swift currents surge over boulders, tumble through riffles and permeate coarse gravel beds. The larvae construct lean-to style structures supporting their silk meshed nets that protrude in the current filtering suspended algae and organic debris as food sources. They have greenish worm-like bodies, with brown thorax, legs and head and are readily observed crawling from their shelters when rocks and tree limbs are lifted from a riffle. The most commonly observed stage is that of the adult, after the pupa swims up to hatch through the stream surface.
Hydropsychid caddis wing colors and patterning range from uniform tan and brown to mottled and variously spotted with tan, brown and white colorations. The pictured caddis show the variation of this group collected from a Bad Axe River riffle.
For the finely tuned fly tier an awareness that body color at emergence can be tan, yellow or green may be helpful; however, within a few days all color turns to the tan or brown color of maturity.
Vulnerability to trout is most evident during the process of hatching as pupa traverse the water column, break through the tension of the surface and ride downstream shedding their papal case and unfurling wings for flight. While adults mature during subsequent days, their flitting behavior along streams is of little significance to trout since caddis do not approach the stream surface until after mating and then it is the female that dives or crawls through the surface to reach submerged rocks and woody materials for egg laying.
If you have observed gelatinous greenish globs on your waders following evening fishing it is an indication female caddis used you as a means of return to the river and substrate for egg laying. Other female members of this group disperse eggs by dapping or touching their abdomen along the stream surface at six or ten inch intervals in a rapid erratic fashion.
Within this diverse group of Hydropsychids, emergence typically occurs in a concentrated fashion in evening and may continue after dark; egg laying is less intense and is scattered across time, some occurring in early morning and from afternoon through evening, while others are entirely nocturnal. Since trout key on these behaviors for feeding, the fishing literature is replete with many fly patterns and method discussions designed to best fish the tan caddis.
Being prepared for tan caddis, it was gratifying to see them in early evening with light colored egg sacks perched at the ready while flying in zig-zags across riffles laying eggs. The tan caddis appeared to be doing the expected, trout rose in a splashy manner and a fly pattern was selected with confidence. As the line-up of rejected patterns accumulated on the used fly patch, bewilderment set in.
While it was difficult from my casting location to align the caddis flight path with trout rise position, it was obvious tan caddis were on the stream and trout were rising, but they were not taking any caddis pattern. Having sought and found the beauty of tan caddis on the wing, but not the intended fishing success, I had again become oblivious of the ordinary; the ubiquitous Blue Winged Olives were riding the riffles.
A nearly invisible early evening olive hatch was in progress among the flamboyance of the tan caddis. After making the correction, catching followed and gradually diminished along with splashy rises. I was contented to have gained awareness of what made the difference and hooked the #20 Adams to the keeper.
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