Tying the Bighorn CDC X-Caddis

If you are going to fish the Bighorn River in Montana during the period from late July into September, this fly is a must have.  Almost daily, the black caddis (Brachycentrus sp.) hatch from late morning right up until darkness over takes the big river, and the trout feed on them throughout the period.  I tie them with and without the trailing zelon shuck, preferring the pattern with the shuck in the faster riffles as it helps support the rear-end of the hook and keep the whole fly up on the film.  The bottom line is that this pattern works very well, and I can't wait to get on the river later this month to enjoy the feast-ivities.

RECIPE 

Hook: TMC100 16-20

Thread: 6/0 Black Danville

Shuck: Amber zelon

Body: Olive-grey superfine

Wing: Two dark dun CDC feather tips.

I also tie these with a small ball of caddis green ice dubbing in place of the shuck to imitate the egg-laying females that come to the river near dusk - those are the eggs on my waders in the video.  I fish this pattern in the surface film, and also will fish it as I would a wet fly - dead-drift and let it swing at the bottom of the drift.

Egg-laying CDC Caddis

Thanks to Tim Flagler for another great job producing the video.

Sharpen your hooks!

The Montana Story - Forty Years of Success

In 1974, Montana did something that stunned anglers across the state and the nation: it stopped stocking trout in streams and rivers that supported wild trout populations. After decades of use and millions of dollars invested, hatchery production was not helping, and in fact was the leading cause of the collapse of the fishery. Ground-breaking research on the Madison River in the late 1960s and early '70s organized by fisheries biologist Richard Vincent led to that decision. His study results showed that as hatchery production increased, trout abundance decreased, and native stocks were displaced.

Nearly forty years after Richard Vincent's study, Montana is one of America's premier trout fishing destinations. Focusing on habitat and discontinuing river hatchery stocking, trout fisheries have recovered and wild populations are self-sustaining.

I'm heading out there in two weeks with my son so he can experience all that is fly fishing in Big Sky country.

Sharpen your hooks!

Trico Morning

Awesome video taken at several locations along our local river, The South Branch of the Raritan River. As Tim says on his video page, "A little too warm to fish, but no harm in simply watching trout feeding on Trico spinners and duns."

2016 National Youth Fly Fishing Championship

The 2016 National Youth Fly Fishing Championships were held this past June 24-26, in State College PA with 7 teams of 4 anglers competing. They fished over a two day period on Spring Creek, The Little Juniata and a nearby lake.  And as luck skill would have it, Team USA2, won this year.  And I'm very proud to tell you that Doug Freemann, was on that winning team.  I've said it before; that kid can fish!

Team USA2 LR - Coach Chris Smith, Ricky Ozmar, Riley Bateman, Douglas Freemann and Mason Simms.

Congratulations to Team USA2.

For all the team scores and individual standings click here: USNYFFC