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hopperfisher

caddis question

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I'm having a hard time understanding how a caddis fly actually floats on the water. I don't think they having their wings perfectly tented like when they sit on a rock, or do they?

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I'm sure it depends on species. The local ones to me tend to skitter along the top and when they rest they do sit tented.

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I'm sure it depends on species. The local ones to me tend to skitter along the top and when they rest they do sit tented.

 

OK, thanks for the reply. Do the spinners sit tented as well or do their wings splay out like mayfly spinners?

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Laying caddie do you mean? A caddie emerger works well for that. In the times I have seen caddis I haven't seen a spent one. I'm not sure the trout give them chance to live that long.

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Caddis flies don't die right after mating the way mayflies do, so you don't have the swarm of spent adults falling to the water. Adults can live from several days to several weeks.

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I have only seen photos of the abundant 'spinners' of this hatch, and their wings are splayed out just like on a mayfly spinner. Remember; they are dead and no longer have any muscle control to hold the wings up.

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Most newly hatched flies don't float! They stand on the meniscus. Many caddisflies seem to know they are a prospective meal for the trout so as soon as they are able they make for cover. This is the skittering caddis. Egg laying is mostly by one of three methods. Only two of which have I found a way of imitating with a fly. Some will crawl down a reed stem or blade of grass into the water to lay their eggs. I've never seen anyone cast with enough control to imitate this. ;) Some will stand on the surface or bomb the surface depositing eggs to drift down to the bed. The others will dive into the water and swim down to lay their eggs.

 

Dead and dying caddis on the water's surface tend to have their wings in a delta position, Though often quite a crumpled one. Swiss straw is a good material to imitate these. If you are imitating egg laying caddis then a butt of bright green or yellow dubbing or floss imitates the egg sack well. A bead head version can be useful for the swimming adult caddis.If you want to go too far with the imitation of a swimming adult then Oliver Edwards POPA Caddis is an option.

 

Cheers,

C.

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i was float tubbing a lake a few years back and had quit a few caddis flies climb on too my tube, what i noticed while they were laying on the water is that their wings were tent style, and i have only seen may flies lying dead on the water spent style.

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i was float tubbing a lake a few years back and had quit a few caddis flies climb on too my tube, what i noticed while they were laying on the water is that their wings were tent style, and i have only seen may flies lying dead on the water spent style.

 

 

Nick...

 

The scenario you present clearly infers that the caddis you saw on the water were alive. Otherwise, how would they have been able to "climb" onto your float tube? The numerous photos I have seen of this hatch that have shown the dead ones caught in eddy areas,where they were so thick they could be scooped up by the handful, clearly show a very high percentage with the wings out flat. Unfortunately, my efforts to find copies of these photos have all been in vain.

 

Cheers!

Frank

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I don't think I have ever seen caddis floating on water. They are always skittering about and very active. The times I have seen spent caddis on the water the wings were splayed out. I have also had them crawl up on my float tube and waders with their wings tented as they moved about. My experience is limited to the western US.

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