BirdTrout
Open the map
X-Caddis
A emerger, tied #14–18, a summer pattern. It is tied against 2 named insects in this book — May–August.
An emerger for summer, this is the crippled version of a deer-hair caddis: a trailing shuck in place of the hackle, so the fly sits low and half-out of its skin. It is tied on a standard dry-fly hook in sizes 14 through 18 with tan 8/0 thread, the shuck of amber or brown Z-lon left trailing behind the bend, a body of tan or olive superfine dubbing, a deer-hair wing set tent style over the back, and the clipped butts forming the head. The absence of hackle is the point, since the natural it copies is an emerging caddis stuck in its shuck. During a hatch that is what the trout are eating, while the adult riding on top is what shows above the surface. It is tied against the spotted or tan caddis, Hydropsyche spp., from May through August in water of 55 to 70 degrees, and serves for caddis generally.
- #14–18Hook size
- emergerType
- SummerSeason
- 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.
- Little Sister Caddis Cheumatopsyche spp. · June–August · 60–74°F · #16–20
- Spotted / Tan Caddis Hydropsyche spp. · May–August · 55–70°F · #14–18
It is also tagged for caddis generally.
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 | Standard dry-fly hook, sizes 14–18 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Tan 8/0 |
| Shuck | Amber or brown Z-lon, trailing |
| Body | Tan or olive superfine dubbing |
| Wing | Deer hair, tent style |
| Head | Clipped butts |
When to fish it
The emerging caddis stuck in its shuck. During a hatch this is what the fish are eating, and the adult on top is what the angler sees.
A summer pattern. The insects it matches are active may–august, in water from 55°F to 74°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.
- CDC Caddis dry fly · #14–20 — Lower in the film than an Elk Hair. For flat water and educated fish.
- 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.
- Elk Hair Caddis dry fly · #12–20 — Floats forever, skates on command, works when nothing is hatching.