Dead Ringer Caddis Pupa

This fly got its name from being a very close mimic of a real caddis pupa. I have spent hours on the water trying to find live(or dead) caddis pupa to study. Some would say Im a little obsessed, but thats ok I need something to do in my free time. Anyway back to the fly, it has barred rubber legs to imitate wing pads, long wood duck to add the effect of horns, and a tungsten bead hidden under the shellback for weight. I use a bead one size smaller than usual to keep down on the bulk. This bug floats down the river looking as close to the real thing as it gets. Check out the video and tie some up.

This is a Caddis Pupa fly pattern - Dead Ringer Caddis Pupa 

A Few Days With Clients

Spending most of your free time on the water with clients or even by yourself, you meet all kinds of people. Some that you would like to toss in the river, or just can't wait for the day to be over. Others are on the opposite side of the spectrum, ones that are a joy to be around, and listen to every instruction perfectly. This past week was filled with plenty of clients that I can't wait to fish with again. One couple, Tom and Barb are in the beginning of a 2 year road trip fishing the top 100 trout streams in the US. Part of their journey has them interviewing all the guides that show them a good time on the water. Bellow is a video interview I did with them.

Interview with Jake

Onto the fishing report, Caddis are everywhere. Take lots of dry flies, but remember that fish may not always be rising to flies floating on the surface. This means you should have an ample amount of nymphs and emergers as well. The Yellow Breeches and The Tulpehocken Creek are full of fish looking for caddis. Head out today and find your pod of fish.

Central to Eastern PA

The fishing has been on fire the past couple weeks. Once the caddis started the sulphurs weren't far behind them. We are getting reports of march browns, and yesterday I was flipping rocks on the Little J and all the march brown nymphs looked ready to pop.The changing weather and rain over the past few days has really slowed the hatches up a bit, so the dry fly fishing has been a bit slow. However nymphing with sulphur and march brown nymphs has been very productive.

I have found that the best approach to fishing the Tully this past week has been a dry dropper rig. Fish are rising pretty much all day long, but most of the surface activity in the mornings isn't really surface activity. The trout are breaking the surface, however they are not eating dries. They are chasing emerging caddis to the surface. I fish a dry caddis with a pupa and or larva under it, this has been working well for me. If you are heading out in the evening, take your sulphur box with you. Moose was out last night and send they were everyhwere. 

Featured Fly - Blended Caddis Larva

I gave the Blended Caddis Larva its name, but I did not come up with the pattern. One of my State College followers Tom, who loves fishing caddis flies of Spring creek designed this fly. He showed it to me last year and I asked him if I could feature the pattern. He welcomed the idea, so I came home and tied a couple up. It has become one of my go to patterns on the Tully. To the untrained eye it looks just like a standard Caddis Larva, but in Tom's eyes its a special blend of dubbing and a unique rib. I will not disclose his special blend, mainly because I don't know it, but SLF Bug Dub has been working well for me!

Materials:

Hook: Orvis Tactical sz. 16-10 or TMC sz. 14-10

Thread: UNI Thread - 6/0 - Black, Tan, Brown

Bead: Tungsten Bead - Copper or Black - sized to match hook 

Ribbing: Antron Yarn (small portion) - Brown, Brown Olive, Chart.

Dubbing 1: SLF Bug Dub - Tan, Olive, Light Olive

Dubbing 2: SLF Nymph Thorax 

Step 1: Slide the bead onto the hook.

Step 2: Tie down the Antron rib as you make a light thread base.

Step 3: Dub the body all the way to the bead.

Step 4: Wrap the Antron, making a nice even rib.

Step 5: Dub the collar, and whip finish.

Finished Fly:

Interested in any of my flies, I now have a small selection of them for sale on the blog. Check out the Flies for Sale . This is located on the right side of the blog below the followers section.