CADDIS ON THE RISE BY JOHN BERRY

, I was working at Blue Ribbon Fly Shop this week and an angler came in yesterday and told me that he had hooked and landed a seventeen inch Bonneville cutthroat trout on an elkhair caddis while fishing the Norfork tailwater the day before. This is very early to start our major hatch of the year but it doesn’t really surprise me. I have been fishing the Norfork quite a bit lately and I have observed several caddis lately.

I think the mild winter we have had and the low water conditions we have been experiencing have pushed the caddis hatch forward this year. Last year was a tough year for fishing dry flies but I feel that the consistent low flows we have had so far are the harbinger of a great dry fly season here. I think we are overdue for some great top water action.

A couple of weeks ago, while my wife, Lori, and I were fishing the Catch and Release section on the Norfork and she got into a terrific afternoon of top water action fishing Dan’s turkey tail emerger to some nice trout hitting midge emergers there. I don’t know how many she caught but it was constant action for a couple of hours.

I would recommend that anyone heading to the Norfork be ready to try dry flies if they see any top water feeding. In addition, the same thing could happen any day on the White. This also means that the soft hackle and emerger action should be picking up.

Before the hatch, when you see rises but no insects, the trout are keying in on emerging insects. I fish soft hackles. My green butt is a great choice. Swing it down stream at a forty-five-degree angle to the bank on a twelve-foot leader/ tippet combination ending in 5X. When you feel a bump, quickly lift the rod to set the hook.

When you see, fish taking insects, from the surface of the water, it is time to switch over to a dry fly. Match your fly to the hatching insects based on size, shape and color. You should have some elkhair caddis flies in size 14, 16 and 18 preferably green. I like to fish the same long leader/tippet combination ending in 5X that I use for fishing the soft hackles. You should carefully dress the fly with a good fly floatant before fishing it.

The key to success is presentation. Cast your fly to gently land, on the water, about eighteen inches above a rising fish and let it drift downstream, in a perfect drag free float. When the fish comes up and takes the fly, you should wait a second before you set the hook. The fish should close its mouth before the hook set. This is the longest one second in fly fishing. I usually miss the first fish or two because I set the hook too fast until I calm down. There is something about watching the trout take the fly that gets the adrenaline pumping.

I don’t know about you but I plan on having a great dry fly season this year.

John Berry is a fly fishing guide with Blue Ribbon Guides near Mountain Home, Arkansas.