Penns Creek Angler
Bruce Fisher
In my opinion the fall season is Penns Creeks finest. It’s the time when everyone should get out for a walk along her bank’s, make sure you bring the rod and proper flies. The hatches will be Blue Winged Olives, Slate Drakes, Crane Flies and the Enormous October Caddis size 10 2xl. This caddis to my eye is the most beautiful and wonderful event Penn’s Creek has to offer. The adult insect is the color of a ripe pumpkin uniformly on every part of its huge body. The life cycle of an October Caddis everyone may not know. So I will give it a shot. In the spring of the year we see these caddis in their stick build houses along the banks of the creek to gain warmth in shallow water. Inside the stick house that is held together by silk is a cream colored larva that looks very much like a common cream grub. During March, April and May you will see them by the thousands. Most people don’t even know they are there. As the water warms the caddis crawl to cold water spots in the creek and move deeper and further out from the bank. They almost disappear to the casual observer. During the hottest months but you can still find them close to the edge of the creek at cold-water feeder streams that flow into Penns. But for the most part the stick caddis finds a comfortable home and attaches to a rock and becomes almost dormant a process know as stasis. But the caddis is far form doing nothing. They are actually growing larger for the pupation that will occur later in the fall. They will stay in mid-stream areas where the water is colder and contains more oxygen. As the fall season progresses and the water starts to cool in September you will again start to see the stick built houses of the October Caddis along the creeks edge. Trout will readily feed on these sticks containing the larva ejecting out the sticks and debris that make up the home of the larva. The tell tail sign of fish feeding on these caddis is to see the trout with their mouth down and tail up at a 45 degree angle. The fish will have scared and tender under jaws when you catch them. Once the larva turns into a pupa the transformation is one of the most spectacular in all of fly-fishing. They turn from a cream colored larva to a bright orange adult. The hatching will take place anywhere from mid-September to the end of October when the last of these beautiful creatures finally crawl to the shore and exit the stick house they have made. The hatching occurs mainly at night so many people wonder why they don’t see them free floating along the creeks surface. They simply pupate and hatch at night along the banks of the creek. The best places to look for the areas that contain October Caddis are the same areas that you spot them in the spring. Most of the caddis will make it to the edge of the water but some loose their grip and fall into the drift. These flies rarely make it to the surface. This is where wet flies become so important. Again this is a night hatch so you will have to fish the wet flies at night with a fast strip. An example of a good pattern to use would be a Bird’s Nest or streamer that contain the bright oranges of the natural. However the fish will readily feed on the whole caddis case sticks and all. For me this is the most exciting time of year. You will find me on the creek late at night swinging 3 wet flies cast toward the bank and striped out at a fast pace. Night fishing is very dangerous and should not be done alone. The rewards are tremendous with very large brown trout caught during this period of time. If you are reading this now! The October caddis hatch is in full swing. If you don’t like to fish at night you should get to the creek at first light and fish with the stick form of the larva. If you can’t get there in the morning try fishing at last light with both a stick form imitation and a streamer as a dropper with short fast strips. Once the stick caddis is caught in the drift it’s very hard for the caddis to gain a grip a grip on the bottom and it must ext the house and take its chances. This is where the Streamer or Bread Crust patterns come into their own. If you would like to learn more about the October Caddis and the flies of fall you can always stop at the shop. However, there is no better time to be on the creek then when you can be on the creek. I have caught so many fish on Crane flies over the past few weeks it boggles my mind and it’s an exciting way to fish when done properly. You will be using 12-15 ft leaders greased half way up. You will hold your rod tip high and catch amazing fish. All you need is the right pattern. If you are interested in learning more about hatches, rod building or fly tying stop at the shop. I don’t have all the answers but I have been around long enough to point you in the right direction. I wish more people would take up the past time of fly-fishing it has been my love for many years. But I still pull plugs when the water starts to get cold and the hatches are winding down. So to quote a good friend “ I know a thing or two about a thing or two”.
Good Luck
Bruce Fisher
© 2009