Black Caddis Patterns?

[swellcat]

Looking through a good many search results here didn't seem to pull up anything relevant.

Are there good generalist/impressionist patterns you like for black caddis, especially that might cover more than one life stage? I can't specify the species, so do I need to be tying up creams, greens, browns, and blacks? (Reference: http://www.west-fly-fishing.com/entomol ... nnom.shtml , but that's Pacific US, not Oklahoma.)

Lower Mountain Fork - Rob Woodruff Report - Orvis
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[swellcat]

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From 30 May versus a January "black caddis" report, so these could be altogether different.





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[letumgo]

I'd vote for Hans's Midnight Walker pattern.


http://www.flytierspage.com/hweilenmann ... walker.htm

[tie2fish]

That looks like an excellent choice, Ray. Those of us who do not have the Argentinian hare for the thorax could probably get by with dark (real) hare's ear as a sub.

[Hans Weilenmann]

That looks like an excellent choice, Ray. Those of us who do not have the Argentinian hare for the thorax could probably get by with dark (real) hare's ear as a sub.

Any coarse (dyed) black dubbing will work - black dyed squirrel or hare's ear perfect.

[Izaak]

swellcat,

Can you tell us anything about the caddis you photographed and posted? How big? Species? They sure look interesting with their bee-like coloration in the abdomen and panelled wings.

Tom

[swellcat]

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Thanks for the replies.

Tom, I'd elaborate if I could. The wasp-bodied, black bugs on the tree (sorry—no size reference) were streamside in late May, and the "black caddis" report is from the last week in January, so these hatches could be entirely unrelated.

The ambiguous or catch-all "black caddis" term can apparently mean cream- and green-bodied bugs, so one supposes this is an invitation to tie three times the patterns.
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[Boris]

Swellcat,

Have you been able to positively identify those as a caddis species? They appear almost smooth or shiny winged. I may be wrong but I recall caddis having a textured type of wing, a bit like a moth rather than a shiny smooth wing.

I'm curious and I was surprised when I saw the photos.

Cheers

[Hans Weilenmann]

Have you been able to positively identify those as a caddis species? They appear almost smooth or shiny winged. I may be wrong but I recall caddis having a textured type of wing, a bit like a moth rather than a shiny smooth wing.

Boris,

Not to be pedantic but the answer lies in the Latin name for the order:

Trichoptera (Caddisflies)

The name Trichoptera, derived from the Greek words "trichos" meaning hair and "ptera" meaning wings, refers to the long, silky hairs that cover most of the body and wings.

Cheers,
Hans W

[tie2fish]

Excepting the yellowish markings as opposed to reddish, these look similar to box elder bugs.