Adult Tan Caddis Larvae Color?

[nrp5087]

I was reading a hatch chart for a local stream in southwestern PA and it says "Tan Caddis". So my thoughts are what species and what color is the larvae and pupae?

An olive caddis larvae/pupae imitation works well during that time of the hatch so could a olive larvae hatch into a tan adult?

Caddis are probably the insect I know the least about in the FF realm.

Thanks

 

[moucheur2003]

The best way to tell is to pick up some rocks from the stream bottom and look at them. "Tan caddis" describes a variety of species, and even within the same species, color can very from one stream to another.

For example, there's a stream in Vermont that is full of big Acroneuria "golden stonefly" nymphs. But if you bring the usual yellowish-goldish-bronzish ones most fly shops sell, you won't catch any fish. That's because in this particular stream, for some reason, the supposedly "golden" nymphs are actually creamy white with black mottling.

The next best way is to call a fly shop that knows the water you want to fish and ask them what they typically use. If you got that chart from a source that actually knows that stream and assembled the info from firsthand experience (as opposed to one that just re-published unverified info gleaned from somewhere else), ask them.

Yes, some of them can have olive larvae/pupae and tan adults. (That's one of the reasons peacock nymphs and wets work so well -- in addition to being general attractors, they also do a pretty good job imitating dark olive caddis.)

 

[0bie]

Without knowing what species they're referring to it's hard to say what color the larvae would be. Luckily, caddis larvae generally fall into two camps: green/olive and tan. There's a few that are a sort of amber-orange color, but generally that's about it- and it makes trial and error pretty easy .

 

[stenacron]

Caddisflies can be problematic in that adult colors will vary even among the same species. This is why a lot of hatch charts just bow out and apply a simple "tan or green" when it comes to caddisflies. All well and good but it doesn't help the angler out who is trying to imitate the larva or pupa.

One of the most abundant caddisfly species in trout streams are the Hydropsyche. The adults are tan in coloration and the larvae are a free-living (rock worm) type olive to brown/olive in color. Turning over a few turtle-sized rocks in shallow riffles should reveal them. This would be my guess for your local stream, but only a recon mission will reveal for sure.

One of my best nymphing patterns back in PA was a twisted body pattern tied on a #14 scud hook... Black metal bead head, dubbed hare's ear for the collar (guard hairs left to dangle) and body of tightly twisted olive Antron yarn. Twisting the yarn gives the body a segmented look when wrapping back to the bead... something like this:

Carrying these in tan, olive, and apple green in sizes 10-14 will cover most free-living caddis larvae.

For a real trip down the rabbit hole I strongly recommend Gary LaFontaine's book on the subject. Incredible work.

 

[planettrout]

I was reading a hatch chart for a local stream in southwestern PA and it says "Tan Caddis". So my thoughts are what species and what color is the larvae and pupae?

An olive caddis larvae/pupae imitation works well during that time of the hatch so could a olive larvae hatch into a tan adult?

Caddis are probably the insect I know the least about in the FF realm.

Thanks

Like Stenacron said,Gary La Fontaine's "Caddisflies" is critical to a clear understanding of all things Caddis. First, a Larvae is NOT an adult. It is the first stage a caddis fly develops into after popping out of the egg.

As it also has been suggested, sniff around on the stream bottom and see exactly what is present there.Here are two sources that I use for identification of Caddis and other aquatic insects:

Troutnut.com: Fly Fishing for Trout, Photo Blog & Hatch Encyclopedia

...and in particular, for Western Bugs:

Entomology | Fly Fishing | Westfly

Dave Hughes, who also knows a thing or two about bugs, once did a comparative color test of net spinning caddis larvae on the Deschutes River in Oregon. he used about ten different shades of Olive and a similar number in Tan until he narrowed it down to a single shade of each that worked best on a particular stretch he most often fished. In other words, don't get locked into one shade of each and expect it to consistently produce everywhere. That is what makes tying so interesting....


PT/TB