What They Look Like - Grannom Caddis

 More than 1,200 species of caddisflies inhabit the waters of North America. Many of them share the same habitat and live in close proximity to mayfly nymphs. However, unlike the free-living mayfly nymph, most species of caddisflies construct small tubular habitats in which they live. The building materials of the cases vary with the individual species; some species use sand or pebbles, others use bits of leaf debris, while other larger species use small sticks. Some species don’t build cases at all. Instead, they weave intricate, silken nets. Other species are free-living, like mayfly nymphs.

Caddisflies have a complete life cycle, consisting of an egg, larva, pupa, and adult. In typical caddisfly style, grannom larvae (the-worm like stage) build and live in cases. Unlike the cylindrical cases of most species, grannom cases are four-sided structures that taper chimney-like from front to rear. They build their cases with tiny bits of aquatic detritus, which are glued into shape with an adhesive secreted in their mouths. While several other species build portable cases that they carry with them when they move around searching or food, the grannom larvae are less adventurous. They secure their cases to rocks or the substrate with a silken anchor line. Gary Borger, in Naturals describes this unusual activity. “I’ve observed the Grannom letting itself out on a silk thread and hanging in midwaters; [which] may well be part of drift behavior.”

Caddisfly metamorphosis usually takes about 12 months, from egg to adult. After approximately eight months, the larva gradually begins the transformation into the pupal stage. The larva starts the process by cementing the case to the bottom, normally on the side of a rock. It then proceeds to close the opening, completely sealing itself within the sealed cavity. Slowly, the adult body parts (the wings, antennae, mouth, etc.) develop and take shape. The pupa’s legs mutate into miniature oars which assist the pupa when swimming. The pupa’s swimming movement closely resembles that of a water boatman.

Caddisfly hatches occur from April through October in both the East and the West. Members of the Brachycentridae family are among the first and most prolific hatches to occur. In the East, Brachycentrus numerous, (a.k.a. the American grannom) appears around the third week in April, just about the same time the Hendrickson hatches begin.

Larvae

By safely securing their case with their silken rope, the larvae are able to move in and out of the opening when searching for food without being swept away with the current. Grannom larvae have tannish-green, segmented bodies with dark ginger heads and legs. Typically, clusters of closely located individual grannom cases cover the same rock.

Pupae

Maturation complete, the papa pries the case open and swims to the surface, where emergence takes place. The Pupa emerges to the surface and, like many other aquatic insects, emerges from its pupal shuck into an adult. This process can take around 10 minutes which it quite a bit longer than other insects. 

In ten minutes, an emerging pupa can float a long distance which makes it easy pickin’s for the trout. Conversely, the adult takes off immediately after hatching and is much more difficult to catch.. Grannom emerge in huge numbers, with literally thousands of insects hatch simultaneously. Next time your out and see Grannoms, toss on that Pupa imitation under an Elk Hair Caddis!

See you on the water,
Lance

All New Trout Nut.com

 I logged into Trout Nut recently because someone asked me for good resources for aquatic insects. Well, when I did, I noticed that the site looked different than I remembered. 

I looked it over a little and the coolest (in my opinion) new thing is the new Streamside Feild Guide. Here I just put in a date (my birthday) and Ohio for the state. It brings up a seasonal guide of what insects I might see on the river during that time of the year. You can select from several species of insects and also select from nymphs, duns, adults, etc. Super easy and helpful!

I am really excited about this feature and look forward to using it to teach people about the world of aquatic insects and how that information can help them to be a more successful fly fisher. I'm also just a bug nerd. Head over to www.troutnut.com and give it a look!

What They Look Like - Trico

Hey Everyone,

With the weather cooling down and the rain finally subsiding, the fall fly fishing season just around the corner, and I'm sure you all are ready to get back up to those trout streams. The trout will be starting to fatten up for the winter and Brown and Brook trout will be feeding heavily to get ready for the spawn. The question is what are those trout feeding on? Everyone knows about the plentiful spring hatches but most forget about the few insects that hatch into the fall months. One of those insects is the small Trico mayfly, Tricorythodes Stygiatus to be exact. These little olive colored mayflies are one of the few mayflies that can hatch into October. Because of this many people mistake it for the blue winged olive. While BWO's are small as well, they don't get much smaller than a size 18. However, the smaller Trico can be as small as 28. Male Tricos emerge throughout the night and are not known to be important as duns. They molt into spinners and await the hatching of their mates. The little olive females emerge in the morning. In the summer this happens at first light, but it occurs later in the day as the weather cools down. Female duns can be important to trout, as can the nymphs as they rise to emerge. The female emergence can be fun to fish, but its action rarely compares to the spinner fall.
Tricos return as spinners soon after emerging, sometimes within a few minutes and sometimes a few hours. There is a widespread misconception that Trico duns molt into spinners in mid-air. This is physically impossible. Tricos must land to molt, but some of them take off again before the dun shuck has completely detached from their tails. This give the impression of a mid-air molt The mating spinners gather in very tight swarms rather than roaming the full width of the river.
After mating, the males fall spent and the females fly to shore to rest while squeezing little green balls of eggs from their abdomens. They return in about half an hour and fall on the water to drop the eggs. Just remember that when imitating this little mayfly, getting the hook size right can be very important.
Next time you're on the stream you will be able to recognize these little guys (and girls) and will get to enjoy some crazy small dry fly action. Who knows you may join the ranks of the 24 / 24 club.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Bugs Are Drifters

Hey Everyone,

I am sitting here watching it rain outside and daydreaming about trout streams. I know that tomorrow a couple rivers will look like chocolate milk and be difficult to fish. However, I know of a few higher gradient streams which will stay fairly clear and if this were late spring or summer I might be excited. If you just thought to yourself "why", its all in the drift.

(Caution Potentially Boring Reading )

The drift of stream insects and other invertebrates refers to their downstream transport in stream currents. While stream invertebrates are very well adapted by whatever means to maintaining their position in running waters, it is to be expected that on occasion an individual will lose its hold and drift downstream. On other occasions the nymph may be free swimming and just get caught up in a faster current. Another example would be a spider, ant, or grasshopper being washed into the stream by a heavy rain storm These are simple examples of why insects may be in the drift. There are actually four Major types of drift. Besides boring you with a long writen out explanation of each type, I figured I would just make another easy to read chart.

Catastrophic Drift : Occurs only when floods wash insects into the water or stir them up from there substrate. Or, droughts, or chemical spills occur and force insects to escape and area. This would also include terrestrial insects getting washed into rivers during a rain storm.

Behavioral Drift: A daily activity used by many aquatic insects and small fish to find new food sources, uncrowded habitat, or avoid predators.

Emergence Drift: Occurs when a mature nymph or pupae leave the stream bottom and drift in the current to the surface for adult emergence.

Surface Drift: Occurs only when adult insects emerge on the surface or when they return to lay eggs.

(There is one occasion that is a combination of emergence and surface drift. It is when the female of some species of caddis must swim back to the bottom of the river to lay her eggs).

With that being said, some species are much more likely to to be in the drift than others. An example of this would be a stone-cased caddis larvae which is not very mobile and unlikely to be caught in the current. On the opposite end a mayfly species like a blue-winged olive that swims quite well often end up in the drift. Here is a really cool chart that was made by some biologist after studying a stream in Oregon. If you look at the two most common species they both live just about everywhere in the US. It really makes you consider what you should tie on during periods of peak drift.

Insect                                                                                      % of total collected in the drift

Mayfly (Baetis)                                                                              18%

Mayfly (Centroptilum)                                                                   3%

Mayfly (Paraleptophlebia)                                                             2%
Stonefly (Sweltsa)                                                                          2%
Stonefly (Calineuria Californica)                                                   1%
Diptera (Chironomidae Larvae)                                                     29%
Diptera (Chironomidae Pupae)                                                      6%
Diptera (Chironomidae Adults)                                                     6%
Water Mites                                                                                    7%
Copepods                                                                                        7%

Although some behavioral drift occurs all of the time there are actually periods of peak drift. The first period starts roughly and hour before and continues until an hour after sunrise. The second peak is roughly from an hour before and extends to an hour after sun set. The third peak is in the middle of the night from approximately midnight to two a.m. These periods of drift have been found to be fairly consistent throughout the year with only slight differences from day to day caused by weather and temperature. This could be the scientific reasoning why most anglers like to fish early mornings and just before dusk.

There is also peak times of emergence drift. In fall, winter, and early spring, is is usually mid day from about eleven a.m. to three p.m. During the summer however most emergence drifts happen in early morning and evening with a few species emerging at night.

I hope that if you read through this I didn't make it too boring. There is a lot more info on this subject but I don't want get crazy on a blog post. I hope that you found this information useful and apply it next time you are on the stream.

See you on the trail,

Lance

What They Look Like - Scuds

Hey Everyone,



This year I have been playing around with a "fly" that I have only used on lakes before. I started to really think about winter insects like bwo's and winter stone flies, and then it dawned on me. Not everything has to hatch. That's what got me thinking about scuds. For those of you that think I'm talking about my time in Iraq not to worry. I'm talking about a small species of fresh water shrimp. These small crustaceans live in almost all bodies of water including caves and water twice as salty as the sea. Because they are pretty much defenceless they tend to hide in vegetation and are mostly nocturnal. Also because they are semitransparent scuds take on the color of their surroundings. Paying attention to the colors in the water will tell you what colors are best to run although olive and tans are most common. In some lakes scuds are one of the most abundant food sources for trout making up to half of a trouts diet. Although scuds can reproduce a few times a year they do not "hatch" thus making them a viable fly to fish year round. Because scuds don't venture from cover often they are best fished near to or bouncing along the bottom. Next time your on the river and can't seem to find anything they want, try a scud, you may be on to something.

See you on the trail,
Lance

What They Look Like - Winter Stone Fly

Hey Everyone,

I was on the river the other day and I wasn't seeing many hatches coming off that morning. I felt kinda perplexed since the trout were turning quickly and I could see them in the clear water grabbing something. I assumed it was midges although I hadn't seen any in the air yet. I caught a fish on a small emerger and that's when I saw what they were keying in on. A small winter stone fly was on the side of my hand. I then realized what the trout were hitting. I knew that by default I had a good fly on. I did change my caddis to a darker body. I spent the rest of the day landing several nice fish. If you see these little guys crawling around its a safe bet that the trout are eating them. They are not very big usually around a size 16 through 20 but in the dead of winter they are a very viable food source for trout. Since they crawl out on rocks or vegetation, there aren't too many emerger patterns. However, I would suggest a black or red copper john as a dropper which will imitate the nymph. You can also tie a elk hair caddis in a black body with a light brown or white wing in size 16 or 18.

Wet Nets,
Lance

What They Look Like - October Caddis

Hey Everyone,

I was on the river the other day and couldn't help but notice a decent October Caddis hatch. If you know much about caddis flies then you know this is a major food source for trout before the winter kicks in. This caddis is usually orange in body color and about a size 16 to 14. Although, this year they seem to be much more pale in the body, I'd say cream colored. For any of you who might want to try tying a nice version of this caddis I have put up some nice photos. I would tie these as an elk hair caddis with either a dull orange with copper wire or a cream body with black wire.

Wet Nets,
Lance

What They Look Like - Midges

Hey Everyone,

If your like me (obsessed with all things fly fishing) you obviously tie your own flies. The one thing that has always interested me was insects. Yes, I was that nerdy kid that caught butterflies in nets and had bug collections. I even attended an entomology summer camp. When I started tying the one thing that I was determined to do was tie simple patterns that had attributes that best imitated the real thing. Ive studied the photos as well as the actual insects that I see on the river. I'm even considering making a small "butterfly net" to carry on the stream. Over the years I have produced several flies and now carry a selection of my best producers. If you are looking for a new pattern or just want to try something new on your local river, I have found some great images of midges since these little guys are not only the most common food source for trout but also the most likely one this winter. I hope you all come up with some great patterns. If they are "must haves" please share.

Wet Nets,
Lance