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Little Black Caddis Pupa
A emerger, tied #16–20, a spring pattern. It is tied against 2 named insects in this book — April–May.
- #16–20Hook size
- emergerType
- SpringSeason
- 2Hatches matched
What it looks like
A drawing, not a photograph, and not traced from one. Its proportions were read off 5 independent reference photographs of the pattern and written down as 5 measured characteristics — wing angle, tail length against the shank, how far a hackle fibre reaches — every one of which had to hold across more than one of them before it could be drawn. What survives across many photographs of a fly is the fly.
What it imitates
Each of these is the same hatch record the app's own panel reads, so a pattern recommended on a river card in the app is recommended for one of the insects below.
- Grannom Brachycentrus spp. · April–May · 48–58°F · #14–16
- Little Black Caddis Chimarra atterima · April–May · 46–58°F · #16–20
Tying recipe
In tying order. This dressing is the standard one — these patterns have been in the publicrecord for decades — and materials substitute freely: the proportions and the silhouette are the pattern, not the brand of dubbing.
| Hook | Curved scud hook, sizes 16–20 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Black 8/0 |
| Body | Black or very dark olive dubbing |
| Rib | Fine copper wire |
| Thorax | Peacock herl |
| Hackle | Dark starling or partridge, sparse |
When to fish it
Swung through the tail of a run in April. The naturals are rising and moving, so drag is help rather than a problem.
A spring pattern. The insects it matches are active april–may, in water from 46°F to 58°F.
Target species
- Trout
Rivers it fishes well
Rivers with a page here that sit in the regions where the insects this pattern imitates are recorded. It is a claim about coverage, not a report of a fish caught.
- Au Sable River northern lower Michigan · July mean 72.1°F
- Catawba River the North Carolina mountains · July mean 76.7°F
- Jackson River the Virginia mountains · July mean 66.3°F
- Muskegon River northern lower Michigan · July mean 71.0°F
- Escanaba River the Upper Peninsula · July mean 68.3°F
- Saint Croix River northern Wisconsin · July mean 77.2°F
- Smith River the Virginia mountains · July mean 51.9°F
- Tygart Valley River the Virginia mountains · July mean 74.6°F
- Kalamazoo River southern lower Michigan · July mean 71.3°F
- Aaron Creek the North Carolina mountains · July mean 76.7°F
- Aaron Run the Virginia mountains · July mean 77.1°F
- Aarons Run the Virginia mountains · July mean 74.2°F
Related patterns
Same type of fly, or tied for the same insects.
- LaFontaine Sparkle Pupa emerger · #12–18 — The gas-bubble pupa. Fished rising through the swing, which is how caddis actually emerge.
- BWO Comparadun emerger · #18–22 — Flush-floating. Baetis emerge in the film and the fish know it.
- Cahill Comparadun emerger · #14–18 — No hackle, deer-hair wing, body in the film. What to change to when the fish start refusing the standing dun.
- RS2 emerger · #16–24 — The emerger that saves a hatch you cannot otherwise crack. Fish it in the film.
- Sulphur Comparadun emerger · #14–20 — No hackle, sits in the film. What to tie on when duns are drifting past untouched.