October Caddis

In my neck of the woods the October Caddis is a sporadic hatch at best.  Fortunately it is a big bug that gets the attention of trout.  It is my understanding that the insect hatches at night or in the early morning, which may be the reason I don't see it often. Once school starts for the kids, I will seldom be able to get on the water before 10:00am on a weekday.

That being said, I do have quite a bit of luck with pupae patterns that represent this insect.  The version I have tied here is not an original pattern but a replication of a commercial one I picked up years ago. It worked well then, so I faithfully reproduced it and have been tying it the same way ever since.

As a European nymphing enthusiast I like to fish this fly as an anchor fly.  With the low water conditions we find on our rivers in the autumn of most years the tungsten bead is all the weight I need to get the flies in the zone.  Since I am using it as an attractor pattern I brighten up the colors a bit, and it works well for me.  The naturals are more of a dull orange, tie them that way if you are looking for a more realistic pattern.

It's a good sized fly, I will fish it as large as a size 8 and as small as a size 12.  A middle of the road size 10 is my all around favorite.

Recipe:
Hook: Standard nymph or natural bend hook 1x or 2x long
Bead:  Black tungsten sized to match the hook
Underbody:  Green Mylar or Krystal Flash
Body:  Orange ultra chenille tinted with a dark marker
Ribbing: Red wire
Antenna:  A light and dark barred feather like Woodduck
Legs:  Partridge
Thorax:  Black ostrich herl