Fly of the Week #15- October Caddis

It is not too early to be thinking and preparing for the arrival of one of my favorite hatches on E. WA rivers- the October Caddis.  I was doing just that, thinking about them and cruising the internet looking for pictures and I found the Iowa State University Entomological site called Bug Guide.  The pictures are great and the site has lots of good reference photos ( many from the Yakima and other Washington State rivers).

Photo by Brian Henning

 

Photo by Brian Henning

Photo by Dick Palmer

I like the October Caddis because they are huge, make lots of surface commotion, fish respond to the the pupae, adult as well as larva, they are easy to see, hatch in my favorite season and are easy to tie.  A person could use a large 6-8 Elk Hair Caddis, but there are plenty of really big, large flies that float better (Think Foam) have more wing structure and present better.  The adults are not always the most available of insects as they literally shoot from the slower water below the riffles.  You can hear them take off.   This fly of the week will concentrate on the last truly large dry fly the angler will have the opportunity to present to the fish for the season.   My only critique of this fly is how long the extended body is, it seems a tad long to accurately match the caddis, as seen above.  However, an extended body floats better and the fly still catches plenty of fish.  After all, it's more an opinion concerning look, more so than function.   Tying wise, it is a very easy to make fly. 

October Caddis Foam

Body sized 6-9, but hook is 10-12

Recipe
Hook: Dai-Riki #300 size 10-12
Thread: Color to match body- 6/0 Preferably burnt orange veevus or brown Uni.
Body: Orange foam made extended.  J:son detached body pin type
Hackle: Brown
Wing:Stacked deer hair
Fore body: Tan or grey foam, cut to make head.

FLY OF THE WEEK	PRICE	ADD TO CART
October Caddis Foam Sz10	$2.50 PER FLY

Thanks for reading,
WBFC Pro-Staff,
Joe