Posts tagged: Caddis Flies

Fly Focus Friday: Caddis Larva

Fly Focus Friday: Caddis Larva

In many areas, especially here in the rivers of the Northeast, caddis is king. We certainly have great hatches of Mayflies and Stoneflies, but purely based on numbers and variety, caddis will be prevalent almost all season long. For many fly anglers, the thought of finding yourself in the middle of a caddis hatch is what keeps us up at night during the long winter. Trout and salmon will happily sip flies on the surface and go out of their way to intercept an emerger or nymph during an active caddis hatch. This caddis larva is a straight forward nymph tied using common materials and can be sized up or down but usually within the #18-#12 hook range. They can be fished tied off the back of a dry fly or dead drifted deeply under an indicator or tight-lined.

Material List: (click to go to product page)

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Recap: Maine Bar Fly - Sebago Brewing Co. (Feb. 20, 2020)

Recap: Maine Bar Fly - Sebago Brewing Co. (Feb. 20, 2020)

Last night we returned to Sebago Brewing Company in Gorham to sit amongst the towering brewing equipment to tie flies. Our overall theme of the night was Caddis. Not only did we manage two different Caddis patterns, but we also talked about the entomology and techniques behind fishing this incredibly diverse species. 

Our featured tyer for the night was Hunt Grobert. A highly skilled tyer, Hunt draws heavily on his Catskills roots to create dead-on proportioned flies. A self proclaimed bug nerd, Hunt also gave a great Powerpoint presentation on the entomology of the related flies and patterns we would be tying that night - the "X-Caddis" and "Green Caddis Larva."

The Maine Bar Fly - Fly Tying Class in MaineThe Maine Bar Fly - Fly Tying Class in Maine

One of the most principle aspects that we want to reinforce with the Maine Bar Fly is the "why." This means that along with learning new fly tying patterns and techniques, understanding why a certain fly is tied in a particular fashion, or why we fish it a certain way are always important supplemental information. This was detailed out last night while we tied a dry fly and a nymph. While out on the water, this information can be a resource in our success. 

The Maine Bar Fly - Fly Tying Class in MaineThe Maine Bar Fly - Fly Tying Class in MaineThe Maine Bar Fly - Fly Tying Class in Maine

Like always at the Maine Bar Fly, there are a lot of great beers being poured. The most popular last night seemed to be the "Freshie Seshie" IPA (the tall cans in the above pics). Plus, since Sebago also has a fantastic kitchen, there was a lot of great food (especially the pizza!) being brought out to everyone. Not sure we could have asked for anything more!

The Maine Bar Fly - Fly Tying Class in Maine

The most challenging aspect to last night's flies was managing the deer hair for the dry fly (X-Caddis). For any new tyer, this can be tough. But everyone seemed to do really well! 

The Maine Bar Fly - Fly Tying Class in MaineThe Maine Bar Fly - Fly Tying Class in MaineThe Maine Bar Fly - Fly Tying Class in Maine

Thank you to Jon Larrabee from HMH Vises, Hunt Grobert, Nate Wight, Shaun Baggitt, Alexa Baggitt, and everyone at Sebago Brewing!

The next Maine Bar Fly is scheduled for March 24th at Mast Landing Brewery. Keep an eye out for further announcements!

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