Caddis - Ahrex Hooks

Trout fishing in Dalarna

The great grayling fishing in Älvdalen draws fly fishers from all over Sweden, but many remain unaware that the area also offers excellent trout fishing. Älvdalen is Swedish and literally means ”the valley of rivers”.

When it comes to my home water, Österdaläven, it’s mostly known for its large population of grayling, which, as we all know, is a great fish to chase with the fly rod. Also, they are quite willing to rise to a well-presented dry fly, which most fly fishers appreciate. The excellent grayling fishing has pushed the trout a bit in the background. The trout population has been under pressure by a big dam and timber rafting. They have survived and the population has grown strong and offers high-quality fishing.

Nymphs

Mayflies, caddis, damsels, stone flies and other water insects appear in a variety of sizes, colours and shapes. What they all have in common is that their nymphal stage lasts a year (for some more), while the winged, adult stages are very short in comparison. Logic dictates that the nymphal stages of different water insects are far more important as a good source on a yearly basis than the winged, adult ones. Many of us prefer catching trout and grayling when they’re visibly rising, but nymph fishing is just as fun and will catch fish when the dry fly doesn’t.

Caddis or sedge?

Sedge og caddis? I’ve been told that caddis is the common term in America, sedge the common term in the UK. I don’t really know and it doesn’t matter much, since I think most people know that both terms cover the same insect. Caddis is a very important food source for trout and grayling. They are abundant in both still- and running water and generally not as clean-water-dependant as many mayflies and stoneflies are. Some species grow quite large, so they also represent more protein pr. bite than smaller insects.

Caddisflies

The sight of a beautiful trout or grayling rising majestically to the surface inhaling an insect is the highlight of many flyfishers dream – the sight that drives us off to the water again and again.

Phryganea Grandis

Many flyfishers are looking for the time when the big mayflies, E. Danica and E. vulgata, start to hatch in late spring and early summer. The image of a big newly hatched mayfly dun swirling down the stream or standing on the surface of a small lake, is for many of us the true picture of what flyfishing is all about. And it is great fun to see, when also the biggest fish lower their guard and start chasing those big flies. But in Stillwater, there as time that are even more fun to experience and that’s when the big Caddis flies begin to show, running the surface to safer ground.

Caddis nymphs

Like may fly nymphs and the nymphal- or larvae stage of any insect, the adult part of the life cycle is the shortest. The large mayflies can live for days, the smallest perhaps only for a hours. Caddis are generally the same – the larger species can live for several days, the smaller just a few days. After mating and egg laying they both die and become spent spinners – a stage off the life cycle the fish know well, since they are easy prey, unable to escape.

End of the dry fly season

The dry fly season coming to an end. But it’s certainly not over and the fishing can still be quite good. There are still insects on the surface – some that come from below and even some that come from above. An important food item for trout and grayling during the fall is sedges – or caddis.

Staffan – in memoriam

Staffan_1

Staffan Lindström, Henrik Leth and Danish split cane rod, building legend, Bjarne Fries, photographed at Rena Fiske Camp.

Another of the great. Scandinavian fly fishers is no longer among us. On the morning of January 17th, Staffan Lindström passed away. Not long ago he was diagnosed with cancer to which he finally succumbed. Staffan was an innovator, an excellent caster and fisherman, trout bum, outdoors man in the word’s truest meaning and a giving person.

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Foamulator

If the fish are playing tricky, the best approach is sometimes to do something totally different (and often something that all the other flyfishers don’t do). And sometimes a big, high floating dry is the right way forward.

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The partridge

The ultimate game bird for fly tying? Maybe not, but the different feathers from a partridge are amongst the most versatile for nymphs, flymphs, wet flies, spiders and soft hackles. Soft pulsating hackles with an attractive marking that offers plenty of life and movement to the fly.

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