Fishing the October Caddis Hatch

One often overlooked hatch is the October Caddis that are prolific along rivers of the western US. This is a super-hatch that may provide b...

One often overlooked hatch is the October Caddis that are prolific along rivers of the western US. This is a super-hatch that may provide better opportunities for big trout than the heavily-pressured Salmonfly hatch in the spring. I know that is a controversial statement for some, but Gary Lafontaine, author of the book Caddisflies says about finding big trout:

"Which insects provide the best opportunity for catching such fish? My list would be: Giant Orange Sedge (October Caddis), Salmon Fly, and the Michigan Mayfly (Hexagenia). ...(October Caddis) is the most important -- and the contest is not even close."

Fall on the Deschutes is a special time and place

I see the arguably broader appeal of the Salmonfly hatch. Springtime, green canyons, high water, millions of stoneflies climbing all over the place. Its a show of life bursting in a river corridor. Fall isn't quite as lush, the hills are brown, there is a lot of low-light conditions, low water, plus potential bad weather. Tons of anglers move on to hunting, salmon or steelhead fishing in the fall as well. Plenty of western rivers are wide open for good trout fishing. The pressure is easily less than 20% as heavy as it is during the Salmonfly hatch in the spring.

The October Caddis hatch can start in September and run through October. These giant caddisflies tend to fly in the morning and the evening and can provide some vicious dry fly takes. The larva and pupa can also be a huge source of low-effort protein for a big trout. Indicator fishing, especially during mid-day can consistently bring nice trout to the net.

Techniques

A big orange dry fly is a wonderful thing. Salmonflies in the spring, and Caddis in the fall. While techniques in the spring are more focused on traditional dead-drifting a dry fly, these October Caddis can be hopped, popped, skated, skittered and everything else. That is one of the best parts about fishing this hatch. These bugs move on the water far more nimbly and effectively than a stonefly.

Rainbows love October Caddis

Most of the good October caddis fishing that I have done has involved fishing slower, calmer water. One area to focus are tailouts. Shallow, slow water that is just upstream of a riffle. Another would be slower areas on along the side of the river that feature overhanging trees. Caddis do love those trees.

You can throw it and let it drift, or you can skate it back, giving it little flutters if you like. Lift the rod tip gently and then drop it slowly. Wiggle the rod tip gently. Make small twitchy strips with the line. These are all valid techniques.

An indicator rig is another effective method for catching big trout on October Caddis patterns. While the bulk of these insects are concentrated in shallow, slow water, the pupa end up getting loose on their march to the banks, and can get washed downstream to provide food for trout up and down the river.

Found one on the first rock I looked at in August

So the super bonus to fishing the October Caddis is the occasional steelhead. These insects are most prolific in rivers that hold steelhead in the west. The Deschutes, Klickitat and Grande Ronde are well known steelhead rivers that all have "epic" hatches of these insects. Because these insects hatch in the same general type of water that steelhead love, they can become fodder for the often lock-jawed steelhead.

I have seen it once. A pod of 6-8 steelhead eating October Caddis adults like they were little 14 inch trout. These 10-12 pound lunkers sat underneath a tree, eating one Caddis after another. Not all of them were feeding, but enough of them were that we dropped anchor and watched them for 5 minutes. Not a single-hand rod, floating line or dry fly within sight. We had been swinging steelhead flies with big spey rods and sink tips (unsuccessfully I might add). So it doers happen sometimes.

They do not just hatch in the slow water though. These are prolific enough that any football sized, fully submerged rock, located in the right stream has a healthy population of these suckers living on them.

October Caddis, courtesy - www.troutnut.com

October Caddis are most prevalent in the most western rivers, from Northern California into B.C. and most of Idaho, and allegedly parts of Montana too, but I cannot confirm that. The McKenzie, Yakima and Deschutes are big trout rivers within a reasonable drive for us that all have excellent hatches. Its not just those rivers though; most smaller or medium-sized river will have a nice hatch. I found one on the first rock that I turned over in the Hood River today. It is mid-August, so we have a month before the bulk of them are that one will be five or six larva underneath that rock.

Identification

October Caddis are a large cased caddis. While the adults are a solid orange, the pupa and larva are creamier, getting darker orange as they grow. They can easily be as large as a size 4, but most are going to be size 6 and 8 based on the extra long hooks that these patterns are typcally tied on. A big one could be as big as your pointer finger.