Caddis, Caddis Everywhere
Spring on the Arkansas River
by
Karen Christopherson |
Click
Here to read
more "Fish
Tails" |
April in
Colorado means the arrival of longer days, warmer weather,
flowers, hummingbirds, and occasional snow. But something else happens - the
caddis hatch starts moving up the Arkansas River. This annual
hatch, dubbed the "Mother's Day Hatch", lasts for
several weeks and yes, one day of it will probably be on
Mother's Day.
This is
something to see - millions of caddis flying about, some spent
on the water, some landed on rocks. It's also quite a sight to
see trout rising, rising, rising after the caddis and gorging
themselves, filled to the gills (never thought there was a
reason for that expression!)
Caddis
in the air - those specks are all caddis - they will be all over
you, similar to black flies in Canada, just bigger and the
caddis don't bite.
So,
as Trapper Rudd of Cutthroat Anglers says, "Put down that
corn dog and get in your car!" Translation - get out there
and fish!
The hatch starts
near Canon City and moves up the river with time. What
determines the timing? A combination of water temperature and
sunlight. The caddis hatch is preceded by a BWO hatch, or they
can be concurrent, with BWO's coming out when the weather gets
colder and cloudier. Colorado factors affect the hatch's
progress and duration - water temp, air temp, sun, wind. When
run-off gets severe, the hatch becomes much harder to fish.
Caddis - what are they?
Caddis belong to the insect order
Trichoptera (hair wings). There are thousands of species.
They have the normal insect life pattern - egg, larva, pupa,
adult. The adults can live for several days to weeks, emerging to
complete their life cycle and lay eggs. You
can find more info on the web - start at the Insect
World page.
Caddis lying on a rock next to
a pine needle
A great day
Last year I fished the caddis
hatch with my friend and guide, Jim Partin of
Caddis Trail Anglers. I was off to experience the hatch, and
looking forward to it since there had been a dearth of risers
near home. The caddis were in the air, hitting the windshield as
I drove to Jim's private access near Wellsville. I've heard that
this is the way to tell the progression of the hatch early on -
drive east on Highway 50 until the bugs are all over your
windshield.
On
the river - I was eager - and soon the fish came to please.
There were lots (OK, millions) of caddis flying about. Soon you
could see the fish rising and fussing about in the shallows near
the edge of the river.
Author
having fun; photo by
Al
Marlowe
The
trick of fishing the hatch is to fish in front of it or behind
it. This should seem obvious. If there are a gazillion caddis on
the water, plus your one great fly imitation, do you think that
Brown is going to say, "I want that one!".Yea, right
(NOT). Better your chances by fishing when the hatch is a little
less severe. And look for the risers - fish to them. If they
stop rising, throw on a dropper.
I
asked Jim when the fish decided to feed - like morning, evening,
mid-day? It seemed even while we were out that feeding would be
sporadic. He said he thinks God decides. Ok, so at least someone
knows.
The Arkansas runs
its course over a long stretch - starting near Leadville and
running thru Canon City. There is quite a bit of public access.
However, if you want to fish the caddis hatch without
experiencing a weekend angler hatch, I would suggest 1) Take a
day off and fish on a weekday or, 2) Hire a guide and access
private water or float the Arkansas. It's not going to be much
fun if you are fighting for parking spots and then in the river with hoards of other flyfishers,
spooking the fish and fighting for elbow room.
Allen inspecting a fat Brown
before releasing him
Jim shows off the nice Brown caught
by Jeff
Off to find more hungry Browns
Arkansas River Guidemap - this map shows all
public access to the Arkansas River from Leadville to Canon
City. Included are hatch chart, insect info, float access
and much more.
