When most insect hatches have come to an end in the western US, that is the time when the October caddis flies kick into gear. These flies hatch in the fall and can quickly catch the attention of trout. These caddis can be found in several colors from dark brown to the orange coloration you can see below.
It is Mid January as I type this, but the reason for this post is to get you thinking about tying up some patterns that will work while you might be in your winter fly tying mood. If you are like me, you probably won’t be too motivated to tie these patterns in the summer and fall when you will need them.
Adult Flies
An adult October caddis. These are very large flies and will cause big trout to feed when present.
Stimulator fly patterns such as the one below tend to make the best dry flies to simulate these large insects.
This particular stimulator fly would make a perfect fly choice during an October caddis hatch. You could also use a little orange permanent marker on the wings to make it even more realistic. This fly is known as a stimulator chewtoy because of the extra layer of foam wings below the elk hair primary wing. It also has a set of legs to make it even more enticing to trout.
Pupa
The underside of a rock with a bunch of October caddis pupae. These flies build a case from rocks and debris in order to stay safe from predators during their nymph and pupa stages of life.
Larvae
This October caddis larva pattern is tied using rubber leg material for the body. It is tied in about the same manner as stacking deer hair. As you can see this particular fly is tied in grey and black to simulate the small pebbles a natural larva would use to build it’s case. The head is made from black synthetic dubbing material tied loosely to look like legs coming out of the front of the case. At the tail of this fly I have added a small amount of gold and silver tinsel to give it added appeal to the trout.
During August and September in areas where the larva are found you can often catch a lot of trout using these patterns. These flies will often become dislodged from the rocks in swift current making them an easy meal for trout.
These are usually not flies you will find in most people’s fly boxes, but there might come a day in the future where you will wish you had a couple. They are easy to tie and can really help to round out your fall fly box.
October caddis larva climbing on a rock under water. Believe it or not, trout do feed on caddis larvae even when their case is made from small pebbles such as this.
