A Caddi Question

[Loren]

The river bed at Jones Bridge is littered with Caddis homes that look like (made out of??) small 1/2" - 3/4" sticks. Just about every time I inspect my fly I find one on the hook and often pull up rocks with several "houses" glued to them.

What variety of caddis is this. Color of the adult? Any other info about this particular caddis. Someone yesterday at Jones Bridge said he saw some black caddis hatching. I didn't see any.

Loren

[Drifter]

Loren,

I can't help you with the caddis identification but.....

Maybe you could put a few samples in a bottle and take them to the Trout Primer next Saturday. There will be some folks (Bill Couch) there from DNR(Bill Couch) with a Biology background(Bill Couch) http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/wink.gif

I'd like to see them also. It might be worth trying to tie an imitation.

Aaron....did you say NGTO will be at the Trout Primer?

The Drifter....carrying bugs in a bottle.

[Flyguy]

Loren....You could post the same question on the ask DNR topic and Bill might be able to aswer your question or as Drifter stated...make it a date and take them with you to the Trout Primer. You might also run it by Hooker as he is good with questions of this nature.

P.S. In talking with Aaron NGTO will be at the Primer on Saturday...See ya there.



Flyguy

[NightOwl]

Yeah,bring 'em for us to see. Could be the infamous " Hotlanta Disco Caddis" thought to be extinct!

[SHAWN]

Loren, What you are looking at are cased caddis. I'm sure that Hooker would be much better in replying on this. The black home you they live in is a type of cellulose or something else the the larva build around them for protection and serve as a ancor so they don't end up floating down the river while they mature. A cased does make for a good immitain to fish at this time of the year. If you ever check what is in the stomachs of trout this time of year, they will be stuffed with these. There are several good imatations out there. I've caught lots on them.
Shawn

[Hooker]

Loren,
There are at least 100 species of caddis flies and so many subspecies that I wouldn't even hazard a guess. They all belong to the order Trichoptera, they all are similar in appearence,and they are all case builders. Color variation goes from tan to gray to olive.
About 10 days before they become adults, they leave the case and begain swimming around the bottom of the river as larvae. Fish love to eat them during this stage, and this is one of the reasons, nymphing is such an excellent technique on the Hooch.
When they decide it's time to leave the water, they swim to the surface, hatch quickly and try to fly. Some species are expert fliers and fairly jump off the water, while others flutter around on the surface. This is why the technique of skittering a caddis over the surface during a hatch is so effective. Once in the air, the caddis adults may hang around for a week or more, mate several times and either drop their eggs on the water or dive under the water to attach them to the bottom of the river.
I've seen some tremendous hatches on the Hooch especially at Morgan Falls. Sometimes the caddis get so thick down there, you can't even breath for getting them up your nose. Fishing is terrible when that happens because of all the food.
The hatches at Jones Bridge are a little more sedate, and typically occur in the evening. This makes a much better situation for throwing the dryfly because the trout start cruising, looking for the flies.
That's all I know. I hope I helped.

Hooker

[Loren]

Well, thanks guys. I'm getting lots of feedback, here, and on email. I'll soon be tying the peeking caddis. One of these patterns I got after doing a search on VFB looks just like what was in the stomach of a trout I took last year at Island Ford. Yesssss, I killed it (may God have mercy on my soul).

Loren

[NightOwl]

I've....I've ..killed one too. Or two or three......It'll be ok....they were fulfillng their .....destiny!( say with a gasp and it's even funnier.)

[Steve D]

Loren,

Just curious, which peeking caddis pattern did you pick from VFB? Was it in the 98 Caddis Swap or the 99 Caddis Swap?

Steve D.

[Loren]

Steve,

'99 (I think). I bookmarked it, but in trying to return to the site, I couldn't connect.

There were 3. One had gl****beads, one was a nickle bead head, and one was ostrich headed.

Loren

[Steve D]

Try http://www.virtualflybox.com - that should get you there. There are some really great patterns in those swaps. I believe the one with the black nickel beadhead was probably mine - a Reverse Peeking Caddis?. If you'd like a slightly better version of the tying instructions (one with some drawings of each step) e-mail me at sdavenpo@lawco.com with a smail mail address and I'll send you the 'structions and a couple of finished flies. BTW, another caddis that works great on the Hooch is the Z-Wind Caddis. I'll toss in a couple of those too (don't have the 'structions for that one done yet but can send you a materials list).

Steve

[Loren]

Update on Caddis Cases

Found a dried case in my car (got me how it got there). The things made out of silt but is flexible when wet (must the glue used by Mr. Caddis). The mica flects gave it away. Dark brown in color. The insect inside is a classic caddis pupa and for you tiers, the head and legs are black, the body is olive (not caddis green). Gotta lmake some peeking caddis's (caddi?).

Loren

[NetBoy]

I just got a caddis book that has a lot of pictures and descriptions. They all look the same to me. I did get a case at Jones on Sat and it seems to match the Black Caddis. The book says they emerge in April and May, midday. I remember seeing a couple of the adult black caddis back in the summer. I guess I'll be using black elk hair to tie the elk hair caddis.

NetBoy

[Bird Dog]

Some folks call them "Black Caddis" but I think the term "Slate Gray" fits a little better. They are very common early in the spring (Feb and March) up here in the mountains. I suppose the same species(or a close cousin) hatches on the Chattahoochee too. Here's my recipe for a Slate Gray Deer Hair Caddis. Tied in the form of an Elk Hair Caddis.
Hook: Typical dry fly type, like a Mustad #94840
Sizes #18 and #20
Body: Black dubbing
Hackle: Dark dun plamered over the body.
Wing: Dark gray Georgia deer hair:
Thread: Black or gray.
This has been a great fly for me. Anyone else got any recipes for matching this critter?