Caddis Hatch

Last Monday after the weekend crowd had cleared out Lori and I went to Rim Shoals for a leisurely afternoon of fly-fishing. What we encountered was anything but leisurely. As we approached our favorite holes I saw an angler wading through mine. I thought he would stop and catch a few but he kept wading until he bypassed possibly the most productive hole in the area. I went in behind him rigged up for nymphing and soon was into a heavy rainbow that fell for my bead head caddis nymph. In the next ten minutes I caught three more nice fish. All the while the other angler was flailing about with fifty-foot casts to no avail. He kept looking back but couldn't figure out what I was doing and finally left in total disgust.

The reason that I began with that particular fly was we had been encountering caddis for the last few days. As I had not seen any fish rising I began with a nymph. I continued fishing across the riffle picking up several trout along the way. About the time I began noticing insects on the surface a good-sized trout hit my strike indicator. That was enough for me! I quickly rigged up for fishing dry flies and tied on a size 14 green elk hair caddis. To rig up for dry fly fishing I just tied a five-foot 5x tippet to the seven and one half foot 3x leader that already had a two-foot 5x tippet tied to it. I selected the elk hair caddis by matching the emerging insects by size, shape and color (I have encountered this hatch before so I always carry these flies). I applied a drop or two of fly floatant and false cast the fly a few times to dry it. Before I began fishing I called Lori on the walkie-talkies that we always carry and learned that she was already fishing dries and nailing fish in another riffle across the river. For once she didn't seem very talkative then I noticed the bend in her rod and quickly figured that she had a good fish on.

I began fishing in earnest but the wind was blowing around twenty miles an hour making casting extremely difficult. As a result I cranked up all my fly line except for a foot and flipped the fly upstream and let it drift down just as I would if I were high sticking a nymph. On the second drift I hooked a fat fourteen-inch brown and quickly released it. I continued fishing across the riffle and picked up fish all the way across. I never went more than three drifts without picking up a fish. I caught browns, cutthroats and a bunch of rainbows. When I released a fish I dried the fly and applied Frog's Fanny to ensure that it floated high.

When I got to the far side of the riffle I saw a huge rainbow. I decided to either catch it or move it. The first two drifts resulted in refusals and I started to doubt my skills when I saw the bow follow and refuse a natural. I put another drift right over him and was rewarded with a solid take. I set the hook and a spectacular fight ensued. I was in the backing before I knew it. I had to wade out of the riffle in order to lead him into quieter water so I could land him. His twenty-five inch frame completely filled my net. I took this opportunity to glance at my watch and realized that I had been in constant action for four hours. Suddenly I was very tired and sore. As I sat there on the bank sipping water from my flexi flask I realized that I had just had the best day of dry fly fishing in my life. I have no idea how many fish I caught but it was enough. I called Lori on the walkie-talkie and she had the same experience. For the first time since I met her she was ready to quit fishing before dark.

I learned three things. Just because someone precedes you through an area doesn't necessarily mean that there are no fish in it. You don't have to cast seventy feet to catch fish. Finally you don't have to go to Montana to have a great day fishing dry flies.