Adapted from A. K.'s Fly Box by A. K. Best

If we could conduct a nationwide survey of fly fishers to determine the most important fly type for the entire year, I'd be willing to bet money the answer would be"mayfly."

If we were to ask "What pattern is the most fun to fish?" I suspect the answer would be "caddis fly." Caddis patterns float like tiny corks; they're extremely durable, highly visible, and easy to tie; their materials are readily available; and trout often take them with rises best described as vicious. Caddis fly hatches seem to occur throughout the summer, which can include late spring and early fall, and nearly every trout stream from coast to coast has a caddis population.

Yellow caddis adult.

I've seen caddis hatches that were so sparse no trout would look at one. I've also seen a caddis hatch so heavy that, when I opened my mouth to tell my friend John Gierach I was going to quit fishing for awhile because I couldn't see my fly on the water, caddis flies flew into my mouth. This was on the Henry's Fork in Idaho, directly across the highway from Mike Lawson's Fly Shop. The stream was covered with caddis flies to a density of about thirty flies per square foot of surface, and the water was literally boiling with rising trout. Some die-hard fishermen covered their noses and mouths with bandannas to keep the little caddis out. At times like this, fishing is simply a useless effort. Even if you have a perfect match for the natural, you can't see your artificial on the water, and what chance do you have of a trout eating your artificial with thirty or more naturals per square foot? It means I'm going to have to make at least thirty, casts before I might get a strike. When the trout are boiling the surface I can't make thirty casts without getting a strike. My frustration factor skyrockets off the chart, and the best thing I can do is go sit on the bank and watch the show.

Fortunately, we only need to know how to tie a few basic patterns to imitate most caddis flies. If you can tie a dubbed body, a down-hair wing, and a hackle collar, you can tie any adult caddis; it's only a matter of color and size variations.

My favorite pattern is one I call the St. Vrain Caddis, because I developed this pale-yellow-and-cream fly to imitate what used to be a consistently heavy hatch on the stream across the road from John Gierach's house. There aren't nearly as many caddis now as there were ten years ago, but some bugs are still there; more importantly, I have caught trout on this pattern from Colorado to Montana to Vermont to Labrador. It's a hot fly and I wouldn't be without some. The St. Vrain Caddis contains some very specific colors, but the pattern can be easily altered to whatever colors imitate the caddis in your favorite stream. I prefer the hackle-collared pattern to the palmer-hackled, because I think it's a little easier to twitch a hackle-collared fly without drowning it.

Move on to St. Vrain Caddis

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