Ted Kraimer of Current Works had this nice soft hackle pattern in his enewsletter today. The pattern imitates an adult female caddis. Ted explains more below.
Black caddis are found in northern Michigan rivers anytime from late April through mid-July and can present themselves either heavily or lightly any day in between. It seems that as the season progresses, these “Mother’s Day caddis” or Grannom caddis tend to be heavier in density right at dusk and even into dark.
The adults bounce around on the water’s surface and don’t get much attention from fish because of their erratic nature of flight and the amount of wasted energy that sometimes goes into chasing them. But of importance are the adult female caddis with their bright green egg sack that oviposit/lay eggs by diving under water. These are the same caddis you may have witnessed crawling on vegetation or even your waders on a recent fishing trip – I often find them on my drift boat’s oar blades.
This easy and quick to tie pattern is effective for fishing wet any time the hatch is present, and even at times a day or two after a heavy emergence has occurred. The bright wire imitates the egg sack while providing some weight. Meanwhile, the soft hackle undulates under the water imitating the wing and antennae of the diving caddis.
To read how to fish this pattern and to see a step-by-step of how to tie the pattern, head over to the Current Works website here.
