Caddis Hatch

With the light all but gone I continue to throw my caddis imitating fly at the continually surfacing fish. I squint to see it before it is taken by a hungry brown trout. We fight for a moment before I pull him from his aquatic home. It is sad that we have to meet this way, but I admire him. He has outsmarted me many a time and it just so happened that this time I tricked him. I knew what he was hungry for. I carefully remove the hook from his mouth and hold him underwater letting him catch his breath. After a moment of rest he swims away.

This might be my favorite time of year to fish. There isn't anything like throwing a dry fly out on the water and watching a fish splash out of the water with an open mouth to take it. As darkness draws near, at this time of year, there is an amazing bug hatch nearly every night. The Caddisfly spends much of its life underwater. The cooling temperatures of the day usually trigger emergence where they break free of their underwater case and swim to the surface for their short 1-2 week adulthood. The last few time I have been out have been some of the best hatches I have been encountered. There are points in the evening where I am covered in caddis. They land on my glasses, tickle my ears, and get uncomfortably close to my closed mouth. Fishing while covered in bugs... I never thought I would enjoy it so much.