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Entomology: fly life in rivers and lochs

Started by Black-Don, February 17, 2011, 09:40:09 PM

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Black-Don

I'm no expert on entomology but thought it would be very useful for a layman such as myself to have a better knowledge of the subject without it being too scientific. With this in mind I decided to do a short post on Caddis flies and  have, as a result, learned so very much more about them in the process. I hope you will find this of interest.

Caddis / Sedge flies

Caddis Larvae, Emergers and Adults



Caseless Caddis Larvaeheadwaters.co.uk )



Cased Caddis Larvaemagickcanoe.com )



Adult Caddis Flynatureconservationimaging.com )



Caddis flies are found near Loch's and rivers. They are known to form large swarms around trees and shrubs where they will mate and lay their eggs. The bright green eggs then fall or wash off into a stream or loch, the eggs sink to the bottom and after about a week and a half they hatch into caseless larvae. Here they swim and crawl around the bottom of the loch or river where they live. All this time, they grow and form cocoons of silk, small stones and debris until ready to emerge and hatch. When ready to hatch, they climb free of their cocoons, swim to the surface and emerge as the adult Caddis/Sedge flies upon which the cycle begins again.

Useful flies:- Peeping Caddis, Larger Buzzers and Nymphs, Elk Hair Caddis, Murrough, Brown Clinkhammer and appropriate Sedge patterns.

There is a good Wikipedia article on the subject here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caddisfly

Caddis flies are also known as Sedge or Rail flies.

This is in no way intended to be a definitive description of the life cycle of the Caddis and any further information or photographs on the insects or suggested fishing patterns is more than welcome.

whinging pom

#1
That is a great starting point for discussion.
However... you have picked a very difficult subject to start. I am no expert, there is probably only a handful of people in this country who are. Identification is very tricky for most of us.
Caddis flies are the order Trichoptera which is ancient greek meaning Hairy wings. Many are similar to the moths ( some of which are also aquatic) that have scaled wings.
There are over 200 species in this country from a few mm to nearly 30mm in size. The vast majority only have scientific names I am afraid.

Caddis are freshwater creatures that have aquatic larvae. Some do live in Brackish water though, but dont really concern anglers.

Some larvae dont have cases throughout their devlopment. These caseless caddis are important trout food and are mostly Rhyacophila or hydropsyches (there is no common name i am afraid, but many anglers call them hydropsyches or Rhyac's ).
Most caddis larvae though build cases of sand grains or small rocks, plant stems, dead leaf pieces, sponges etc. Each species has a distinct type of case and to an extent can be identified by these cases.

Caddis lay there eggs in various ways, some by dropping balls of eggs onto the surface, or dropping individual eggs. Others actually land on rocks and crawl down under the surface to lay there eggs under rocks. With these the typical caddis shape wing becomes a real advantage as it helps aerofoil the water and keeps the adult streamlined to the rock as it competes with the current.


This is a very common one, we call the Black silver horn's. This is Mystacides azurea or Myastacides nigra. The larvae has a case of plant debris with a few long pieces of stem. the adult males fly in swarms zig zagging a few feet over the surface, late afternoon to dusk. Stuart crofts calls them Black dancers because of the way they fly. they are 8-10mm long. The female drops into  the dance in a certain pattern and is grabbed by a male.. they fly off to mate. She then drops into the dance again, this time in a different pattern, she is ignored now and gets through the swarm to get to the water surface and lay her eggs.
I use a very dark F fly to imitate these.

Fishtales

Another that is of interest especially to the angler fishing highland streams and lochs is Philopotamus montanus or Speckled Sedge.

The Larvae
Larvae are filter-feeders, spinning nets to filter fine particles and diatoms from the water (Waringer & Graf 1997, Graf et al. 2002).

Habitat
They are typically found in the rapids of headwaters and in tributaries where water runs vertically down through piles of boulders (Edington & Hildrew 1995) since this species needs moderate to high current velocities.

Adults
Adults are on the wing from January to November (Waringer & Graf 1997).

[attachimg=1]

I suppose any brown dry fly of a #12 would do particularly one of the grousewing tyings or a deerhair sedge type.
Don't worry, be happy.
Sandy
Carried it in full, then carry it out empty.
http://www.ftscotland.co.uk/

Looking for a webhost? Try http://www.1and1.co.uk/?k_id=2966019

whinging pom

#3
Thats another one of the handful of caseless caddis isnt it?
I have never seen it down her in the south, but cheating with my guide book The simple guide to caddis larvae by Ian Wallace. It says that it has a  yellowy cream or white body with an orange or reddy brown head. Similar in shape to the one in Blackdons illustration at the begining.
That should be an easy nymph pattern to make up. The body length is 8-11mm.

By the way when imitating the nymphs, i think it is a mistake to over do the curved body shape, as i believe that when the trout pick them off in the current they are usually swimming and the bodies fully extended. Certainly makes it easier to tie up.

Fishtales

I'm not sure how important the nymph imitation would be in the loch unless fishing off any of the fast flowing burn mouths and they are being washed down. Probably more of interest to the small burn fisher in the flats and slow pockets below steep runs though. As you say it is one of the caseless caddis although I wouldn't think it is a swimming caddis. More like a spider letting out a length of silk like a lifeline and dropping down the flow until it finds somewhere suitable to build its silk net. It would only be free swimming as such if it gets washed away in a spate.
Don't worry, be happy.
Sandy
Carried it in full, then carry it out empty.
http://www.ftscotland.co.uk/

Looking for a webhost? Try http://www.1and1.co.uk/?k_id=2966019

Black-Don

Quote from: fishtales on February 23, 2011, 08:57:20 AM
I'm not sure how important the nymph imitation would be in the loch unless fishing off any of the fast flowing burn mouths and they are being washed down.

Don't you get the sub aquatic larvae around the loch edges where there's stony ground and overhanging trees etc, ?

muddler9

 Judging by some of the sedge hatches I've seen, most lochs must have huge  numbers of larvae on the loch bed. I've certainly found plenty in early season spoonings. I wouldn't bother trying to imitate or fish them though, as they would need to be fished deep which results in getting snagged on the rocky waters I fish.
The pupal form as it rises to emerge is well worth imitating, though. The Invicta or Walker's long horn pupa will do the trick. As for the adults, the deerhair sedge with various colours of well picked out seal (orange, claret, green or black) are all I need.

Then there's Damsels. The Assynt lochs I fish are swarming with them, though I've rarely tried them.  Room for experiment, I think.

Billy

Does  anyone  know  where  i  can  get  or  has  a  design  for  the  nets  they  use  for  taking  samples  of  river  insect  life?  I  have  fancied  doing  this  for  while  and  sampling  before  i  start  to  fish.  Any  suggestions  for  literature  would  also  be  very  welcome.
Billy

deergravy

#8
Quote from: muddler9 on February 23, 2011, 11:58:46 AM
 

Then there's Damsels. The Assynt lochs I fish are swarming with them, though I've rarely tried them.  Room for experiment, I think.


Camping in north Assynt a while back, I chapped a couple of brace of half-pounders.
They were stuffed with adult damsels!
Difficult to imitate, though, and I don't think the fish were being selective about them; otherwise I wouldn't have caught them..
Did get me thinking about it tho, it's always nice to catch fish with a direct imitation.

BTW, I'm not convinced fish are that keen on adult sedges. I honestly cannot recall a single occasion when they've been keyed in on the skittering insects, certainly not in the way they fix onto, say BWOs.
They hoover up the ascending pupae for sure, but I'm always left a bit nonplussed when I see published imitations with their tent-wings and antennae.
Is it just me??

Clan Ford

Quote from: deergravy on February 23, 2011, 10:25:48 PM
BTW, I'm not convinced fish are that keen on adult sedges. I honestly cannot recall a single occasion when they've been keyed in on the skittering insects, certainly not in the way they fix onto, say BWOs.
They hoover up the ascending pupae for sure, but I'm always left a bit nonplussed when I see published imitations with their tent-wings and antennae.
Is it just me??

I'm with you ....

Norm

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