Saturday, June 25, 2022

The Versatile Caddis Fly

 When one thinks of the Caddis Fly they relate it to fly fishing for trout. I have fished this fly numerous times on the Sipsey mainly using it as an indicator fly. There were times when I would get a trout to inhale the Caddis while slow drifting a nymph under it. Which was a plus because I was trying to get the trout to take a smaller nymph drifting below. I use the traditional dry-dropper combo more now on the Sipsey because of the fishing pressure. I remember previous years fishing the Sipsey I never used the dry-dropper combo. I only fished a nymph using the various strike indicator on the market. 

On my last trip to the Sipsey, which was a bust for me, no trout touched; started me thinking of using this fly to fish for the giant bluegill on Smith Lake. So two weeks ago, I gave the fly a try casting it near the rock walls in Ryan Creek.

I was impressed with how the bluegills reacted to this fly. At times they would pull it under, and other times they would explode on it. I have written in a past post about how wary these fish can be in hitting a particular color or size popper. So when they are not hitting a popper consistently, it is good to have a backup fly that will get their attention. Enter the Caddis in size ten, but I think a size eight would be better. The extra body on the size eight wouldn't require me to use as much floatant and give the fish a bigger fly to see. Simple to use just cast it using a 3wt. with a 6X tippet and wait for the take while it sits motionless on the surface. I seldom ever move it after it touches the surface. Having success with the Caddis makes me want to give the Adams and the Wulff a try!

6 comments:

  1. If you're fishing an Adams or a Wulff, I'd bet a Sloan's Paralyzer would be killer, if you can find them.

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  2. Hi Bill, interesting that a small fish with an even smaller mouth takes a fly as large as a size 10!

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  3. Mark I hope I can find one of those flies in a size 8--thanks for the comment

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  4. Justin
    The bigger bluegill can inhale a size 6 and 8 fly or popper---thanks for the comment

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  5. Funny, I threw on a caddis this past wkd and got all my fish on the top. Tis the season!! My caddis was only a size 14 though!!! =)

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  6. Emily
    I'm so impressed with the Caddis as a warm water pattern--my next venture with this fly is to get the Spotted Bass to take it--- I believe I will need a size 8 to get a reaction from a bass. I found a company on Ebay that will tie the pattern in sizes 8 and 10 with lots of wing patterns. The more hackle and wing pattern should produce a high float. thanks for the comment

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