The second stage requires of the angler lesser effort in discerning the time of day and is much easier to target as the midpoint of emergence. This is one of the most important of the three hesitations in the life of a hatching caddisfly and not solely just for the caddisflies. Prior to the full emergence of the adult caddisfly, pupae suspended in the surface film remain susceptible to trout as they struggle to break free. The distance in which the emerging caddisflies drift is dependent upon the species, but in some cases can last as far downstream as 30-feet.
During this point of the hatch, droves of trout shift their attention to the surface, offering the astute angler hours of trout catching hysteria. Displayed through their ravenous feeding tendencies in aerial acrobatics, those full body breaching and lunging trout are exactly what propels anglers to cast dries at a time when emergers are the main fare. Frustrated anglers fruitlessly casting dries should focus their efforts not on top of the surface to catch trout, but just beneath where the almost invisible caddisfly pupae are most prolific.
Stay the course with the double fly rig, altering your first fly with a high riding adult imitation. This is when a green-bodied Elk hair caddis pattern finally earns some respect and is the only reason it remains in my fly box. For the dropper patterns I use imitations such as the Crippled Caddis in 14 and 16, an olive Spotlight Caddis in 14, or a size 14 or 16 CDC Caddis in olive. Tie the emerger pattern 8-inches from the bend of the dry, and make a 45-degree upstream and across cast, mending the fly line as it drifts past for the best drag free presentation possible.
Caddisfly emergers and the adult counterparts become quite aggressive in their movements at this stage. Adding in a subtle twitch to the fly as it drifts often triggers a strike from an anxious trout. You don’t necessarily want to skate the dry fly across the river, but a few twitches that create a tiny wake behind the fly have coaxed a few trout into a strike and netted a win. Use your judgment on how often you add this extra movement to the flies. Too much and at the wrong time and you’ll watch a spooked trout refuse the offering.
Whenever I’m fishing a caddisfly emerger I like to add a sparse amount of Loon Outdoors’ Payette Paste Floatant to the fly and to an inch of the tippet. You don’t want to overdo it when applying the floatant to the emerger. Adding too much of the paste will gunk-up the fly, causing it to lose the wanted movements of the material that closely mimic the naturals in the water. The best advice I can give in this situation is to experiment with the application. Start with a minute amount and work your way towards applying more if needed.
After a few drifts through a run, or hopefully a good number of trout to net, drop the emerger into a jar of Loop Outdoors’ Top Ride and give it a thorough shake. This white desiccant holds a hidden bonus when first applied to the fly: it bleeds a white film around the fly when it first hits the water. Whether or not this aids in attracting trout to the fly is beyond me, however, I can attest to the reoccurring occasions of savagely striking trout directly after its application.
Occasionally a feisty trout will strike the adult imitations as it floats through a run, but most of the time it serves as an indicator and nothing more. Dress the fly in the same manner as the emerger and treat it with the desiccant once it becomes water logged.
The third and final stage of emergence comes in the form of egg-laying females and happens in the dim light of the evening and under the cover of night. The abdomen and thorax of the returning adults have changed colors since leaving the water in a bright-green flicker. Darker patterns in a shade of brown, tan, and on occasions black work wonders for this intense moment in angling time. A majority of caddisfly species are exceptional divers, and after breaking the surface film the females swim quickly to the bottom of the river where they cling to the rocks and gravel as they leg their eggs.