Salomone: The caddis are coming.
And once they're here, the best dry-fly fishing in the state is guaranteed to follow
Michael Salomone/Courtesy photo
The approaching caddis emergence on the Eagle River holds promise of epic angling. Insects that have developed slowly over the last year are ready to move. The arrival of caddis on the Eagle River is followed by the best dry-fly fishing in Colorado.
Call your buddies, tell the neighbors — the caddis are coming.
Caddis follow a predictable life cycle throughout the year. Adults mate and the females lay eggs in the river. Certain varieties of caddis dive underwater to lay eggs directly on objects. Others disperse their eggs by skittering across the surface of the water.
The eggs take a few weeks to mature into the larva stage. Caddis insects spend the majority of their life in the larva stage. Caddis larva grow slowly for up to a year and longer for some types. The larva stage is where all the growth of the insect happens. The majority of the Eagle River caddis exist sealed in a case clinging to a boulder.
Small, green bead head nymphs represent the earliest stage of the caddis. Some intricately tied flies represent the larva in the case. Trout will feed on both the cased and uncased nymph.
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When caddis larva reach a point in development where they are going to transition into pupa, the larva will seal off the case. The pupa will develop further until water temperature and maturity motivate the next transition.
Caddis pupa will exit the case and drift upward through the water column toward the river surface. During the time caddis are in the water column, trout exploit the insects’ vulnerability and feed voraciously. Trout will often key in on the emergers with powerful slashing strikes just below or right at the surface.
Anglers take advantage of this weakness by letting the nymphs or emergers pull tight to the surface in the current. The rise flies make when held tight at the end of the drift mimics the motion real insects are making. Nymph anglers who utilize motion in the drift benefit as well. When nymphing along the river bottom, a slow lift of the insects — called a Leisenrig lift — provokes strikes from down deep.
Pupa can drift over long distances. The heaviest concentration of insects happens near structures but the drifting creates a situation where LaFontaine’s sparkle pupa shines. LaFontaine’s sparkle pupa, tied unweighted and with a bead head, will cover the entire water column from bottom to top. Keep your fly box stocked with them in tan and green to mimic this key stage.
Once the insect passes the trout gauntlet and rises to the surface, the bug breaks free from its nymphal shuck and flies away a fully-winged adult. Emerger flies with an indication of the shuck trailing behind are key to triggering a bite. The X-caddis is the perfect example of an emerger with a half wing and trailing shuck.
Most caddis in the Eagle River begin to emerge in late April and continue through the summer. Temperature is key. When the river water reaches 54 degrees, the bugs begin to pop en masse.
Historically the timing falls near Mother’s Day. Any angler bearing witness to a true Eagle River caddis hatch won’t soon forget the day. I’ve seen caddis numbers so high the air looks like a white out on Vail mountain.
Feeding is limited during the short-lived adult stage. Some species of caddis do not feed at all in the adult stage. Other adult caddis feed on nectar from flowers. The primary focus of adult caddis falls on mating, evident by the clouds of bouncing, mating caddis gathering in the air above riverside bushes.
The best fly for imitating the adult stage of the caddis along the Eagle River is Puterbaugh’s foam-bodied dry fly. The addition of foam keeps the fly riding perfectly on the surface film. The caddis hatch on the Eagle River is a great opportunity to tie on one of your own twisted Elk Hair caddis dry flies. The feel-good experience is exponentially increased when you catch a trout on a bug of your own creation
Existing in the river for a year or more, caddis nymphs provide valuable sustenance to Eagle River trout. During the nymph stages, the bugs cloak boulders in cases. As adults the insects fill trout gullets and angler dreams. Once the hatch starts to roll, fly shop bins will empty quickly. Better to start stocking up now.
The caddis are coming.
