The Northern California Fly Fishing Board

I've been thinking back to October. I was only onto about one fish per hour with October caddis pupa pattern, adults were on the water in the evenings and shucks were all over the downstream side of rocks.

I have since heard "October caddis don't have shucks" from a few people, and clipped this:

"Some caddis don’t hatch from the water but prefer to swim to the shore to hatch. They crawl out of the water with their pupal shuck intact. A prime example of this activity is the large October Caddis Dicosmoecus. With this type of hatch dry adult patterns or only useful when the females return to the water to lay eggs."

Yet, orange stimulators were pretty successful that trip, more so than the pupa. I have been midstream when they are just shooting up out of the water like missiles, not from shore. Didn't see that this trip. Maybe we were late for the hatch?

I am just trying to figure out this hatch.

Greg

It's briefly mentioned in Bugs of the Underworld that they're perhaps the most famous of the terrestrial emergent caddis. I'm just getting to know em too, but have some pictures to share.

(sorry about the 1 pic per post, not sure how to attach multiples without going to a hosting service)

I saw them coming out of the trees/bushes and smacking the water, occasional skittering, but not bursting from it. Threw one of the pupa out and it skittered back quick! Swims fast too, check out the fibers on the kicker legs.

Stimmis, TD's oct fly worked, but I'm going back with orange&tan chernobyls

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Good stuff, Eric. That ought to help us tyers a bit.
Thanks.

I'm not certain if October caddis are OBLIGATE terrestrial emergers, but I've never seen or heard of them hatching in open water. They crawl or swim to shore or to the down current side of obstructions then scramble out of the water to hatch. They are rather slow and methodical "hatchers" and evolution probably did a good job weeding out any who tried to emerge mid stream. They certainly have shucks but fish don't get a chance to see them.

If you are watching caddis bolt out of the water, it's likely another species (big Hydropsyches can be around in the fall) or possibly spent ovipositers who were resting on the film then suddenly decided that wasn't a cool place to hang out.

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