A Tale of Two Caddis

Well. It's been a long winter season.

Throughout the period since my last post I have been concentrating the majority of my fishing opportunities on the local coastal cutthroat in the streams in and around the lower mainland of BC. Unfortunately trips have been limited as one weather system after another has blown in off the Pacific and blown out the local waters. I could have switched over to swinging for steelhead, but I've got issues with rejection, and while the stillwaters fish slowly throughout the winter months here, my interest in honing my stream fishing technique has kept me focused on moving water.

Luckily the weather is slowly turning, and the frequency of the Pacific weather systems hammering our coast has slowly decreased. Over the past few weeks or so I've managed several short outings, and I'm gradually seeing increasing signs of insect life and fry movement. While the march browns (pictured at left) poked their antennae above the waters surface as early as February this year, it is only with the warming sun that the fish have begun to shake off the lethargy of the winter months and really begin to get aggressive about feeding.

This talk of insects and activity brings me to the subject for this entry: imitating net building and free living caddis larvae. These two caddis types are quite ubiquitous on on almost all streams along BC's south coast, and for that matter on most of the cleaner cold water streams around the world. The fact that they are a protein rich food item available year round can not be overlooked when it comes to creating and carrying effective fly patterns.

On a recent trip to the river I took the time to turn over a few rocks and examine some specimens. I have done this numerous times before, but it almost always pays to reacquaint yourself with the real insect before sitting down a the bench to do a little tying. Starting from this basis it becomes much easier to look at designing an effective imitation or at least a suggestive one. Of course other considerations impact the features you incorporate into a fly, not the least of which is the target water and species--for example, targeting cutthroat in a reasonably brisk, deeply stained brown/olive stream with relatively good visibility, shallow riffles, rock weirs and long pools (in short, my local water).

I tend to rely on two styles of flies when fishing net building or free living caddis nymphs. Both involve the use of weight to present the flies at or near the bottom of the water column, both rely on similar colour schema to match the natural, and both utilize a scud style nymph hook to match the natural curved orientation of the drifting insect. Where they differ is in the profile and application.

First up is the somewhat imitative fly shown next to the natural at right. This fly, very much a standard Czech nymph, does what a good Czech nymph should do-i.e. its narrow profile cuts through the water quickly and once there rides point up. It's also fairly realistic and works well in the slightly deeper water at the pool heads and along the seams where a long controlled drift is sometimes called for. The colour pattern seems to work well, balancing the flashy kelly green rib against the somber dark olive squirrel for a fly that is neither too bright or too dark.

The fly at left, again pictured with the the natural, employs very much the same materials as the preceding one with the addition of a small gold tungsten bead and a silver badger hackle. I call this a White Water Caddis, but the pattern is very generic and similar to many coming from the benches of western North American fly tyers. I say "western" fly tyers, because in the words of one such tyer, "in the American West we fish a lot of tumbling, sometimes roaring waters. A normal day on a mountain stream or canyon river can be as much about the exercise as about the fishing." In such waters a strong attractive profile, particularly for smaller flies, is often called for. This fly follows that mold and its rough exterior and hackle provide that extra dose of movement as it's pulled through the white water riffles and into foaming plunge pools.

Well. There you have it--a tale of two caddis, or rather a tale of one caddis and two flies. My point is not to suggest that one is better than the other (in fact both took an equal number of fish on my last outing in different water), the point is that by drawing together the disparate elements of observed insects and conditions, an understanding of the physical characteristics of various materials and constructions, and an almost intuitive sense of what fish key on, you can design (or choose) a fly style which will match the situation at hand... and by grace, catch you a few bright beauties.

Aaron

***

Net Spinner Czech Nymph

• Hook: #18-#14 Mustad 49s
• Underbody: Flattened .015" lead wire (2 layers)
• Thread: 12/0 Olive
• Over rib: 0X Fluorocarbon
• Shellback: Olive scud-back
• Rib: Kelly green mylar embroidery material
• Body: Dark olive squirrel dubbing
• Thorax: Black synthetic dubbing (cut short)
• Tint: Olive pantone marker on body shellback, black over thorax

White Water Caddis

• Hook: #18-#16 Mustad 49s
• Bead: Gold or black tungsten 3/32"
• Underbody: .015" Lead wire (6-8 wraps behind bead)
• Thread: 12/0 Olive
• Rib: Kelly green mylar embroidery material
• Body: Dark olive squirrel dubbing
• Hackle: Coq de leon hen (silver badger)
• Thorax: as body (to hide thread)

2009 Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships

The 2009 Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships were held this past week (September 21st through the 26th) in perhaps one of the most beautiful places on this continent--Fernie BC. Although the event was originally scheduled to be held in William's Lake this year, last minute difficulties necessitated the switch to Fernie and I for one couldn't have been happier because of the chance to fish one of the premier cutthroat rivers in North America. Event organizer, Kevin McIsaac, managed to pull together a very good event given the time available and aside from dropping one of the venues (Loon Lake) from the competition due to a lack of suitable vessels, the event progressed pretty smoothly.

I was one of 45 entrants and came to the competition with Team Mustang, skippered by Wayne Yoshizawa. In addition to Wayne, I was joined by Norm Godding, Randy Paskall, Randy Patton, and our lovely support staff Leslie Godding and Deb Paskall. While all of us had at least some competitive experience under our collective belts (Wayne and Norm were part of the Gold Medal team in the Campbell River Nationals) we were a relatively "young" team in terms of the overall field of competitors.

Leslie, Norm, Randy Paskall, Wayne Yoshizawa, me, & Randy Patton

Practice:

With the exception of Norm and Leslie, the bulk of the team arrived late on Friday the 18th and practice began immediately. With no knowledge of the eventual competition locales, we spent the first full day fishing a stretch of river just above what would eventually be upper venue on the Elk river between Fernie and Sparwood. This piece of water was lovely--a shelf just metres from the shore transitioned first into a deeper pool and eventually into a long slow tailout and back eddy. The cutthroat waited beneath the shelf edge and happily took a variety of dries, nymphs and soft hackles without significantly spooking. Aside from some time working pocket water before we arrived at this spot, most of the first day was spent here. In hindsight this probably wasn't wise, but based on the performance of various flies in this stretch of water we began to form a strategy around techniques and fly types.

The second day was spent at Loon Lake, the venue that would eventually be dropped from the competition. Even before we had arrived this was pegged as the make-or-break venue of the competition, and thanks to Norm's scouting we were armed with knowledge of the lakes two main cold water springs and holding structure. In spite of swirling wind conditions we were able to get a few clean drifts through the holding waters and landed eight fish on the day on a variety of patterns.

Satisfied that Loon was an open book to us we divided our remaining time between the river, which produced fish throughout our practice sessions, and Summit Lake which was for the most part generous to us. I should have been worried when I personally didn't get a strike on Summit, but my teammates' success (particularly Norm Godding's and Randy Paskall's) alleviated any lingering anxiety. In fact I felt comfortable enough to take a little time after the practice sessions to sneak up to Michelle Creek to fish dry flies to the willing cutthroat of that system.

Competition:

For those unfamiliar with the competition format, the events are usually divided into five separate venues. Those venues on streams or shore are in turn broken up into "beats" and assigned randomly among the competitors. In the case of the 2009 Championships there were three river and two lake venues chosen. The three Elk river venues were situated above, in and below the town of Fernie, while the two lake venues took place off the shores of Summit Lake--one on the Southeast shore (Summit 1) and one on the Northwest shore (Summit 2).

Summit 2 Beat 8
The venues weren't chosen to be easy and (as you can see from the picture at right) not for looks either. The two lake venues were shore based and competitors had the option of wading. Essentially the beats (100') were strung along the shoreline and numbered one through nine with the starting beat situated closest to the access points (South in the case of Summit 1 and North in the case of Summit 2).

My first beat was Summit 2, beat 8 and the shot at right was the view looking North. This venue was the replacement for the cancelled session on Loon Lake and in spite of the bleak scree hill pictured, turned out to be a very productive spot owing to the relatively quick drop-off and proximity to the outlet stream at the North end of the lake. Brookies and rainbow were taken in this sector and fishing favoured the morning sessions. Throwing boobies and other floating flies with a sinking line hooked two fish for me, but unfortunately I wasn't able to bring any to hand. Team Mustang faired well on both lake venues, but only Norm Godding was able to land fish for the team on this particular venue, narrowly defeating Todd Oishi from the Cormorants to win his session.

Summit one was a little fairer to the team, with Randy Patton taking his session using a general copper and black pattern, and Wayne Yoshizawa picking up a third place in his session using a black UV bugger.

View From Elk 2 Beat 2 Downstream

I'll be the first to admit I am not the stillwater angler that most of my teammates are, but I was prepared to do better on the river venues, and for the most part I was pleased with my performance. What I was not prepared for, and I suspect the same could be said about all of my teammates, was the water chosen for the beats on the river. On such a beautiful river, with such perfect fishing water, the organizers managed to find some of the most difficult to fish areas I've seen on any river system. Many runs were devoid of structure and those that had it often involved deep fast slots and near impossible to cross sections. I suspect that most of the competitors relished the challenge (I certainly did later), but the initial shock of finding that my first beat was a lousy section of water that I had skipped over during one of the practice sessions was just too much. In spite of literally swimming across the flow at one point to get to fishable water I was not able to bring any of the four fish I hooked to hand and blanked on the session.

I'm sure the majority of the competitors hitting the river on the first day were likewise shocked at the unforgiving water chosen for the competition, except perhaps for those lucky few that had one of the smattering of very productive beats scattered through the competition. If there was one small criticism I would level at the Championship, it would be the inconsistency of the water quality in the river beats, but that's fishing and the luck of the draw.

Deep Wading in Elk 1 Beat 2
I managed to fair much better on my second river beat, drawing a relatively good looking beat in the upper Elk consisting of tailout water at the top end and having a small inflow creek at the bottom. I shared this beat (as well as the last one) with John Nishi, the eventual individual and team gold medallist. This arrangement was the norm in the competition, with two competitors dividing a single beat, fishing half of it in the first ninety minutes and then changing positions for the second 90 minutes. I won the coin toss and fished the better looking upper half of the beat, managing six whitefish and a single cutthroat. I followed this with two cutthroat in the lower section which was enough to secure a first on the session.

Just an aside here on the Elk river whitefish. I was pleasantly surprised at the fighting ability of this little sportsfish and by its bonefish like ability to disappear like a ghost into the watery depths. Even in clearer and slower stretches of water the whitefish were virtually invisible, only betraying their presence when spooked by a clumsy wading angler. They proved to be an excellent competition target due mostly to their relative abundance on the Elk system and their tendency to favour water not normally home to cutthroat--which seemed to describe most of the competition beats.

A Stealthy Approach on Elk 3 Beat 4

I can safely say my final river beat was the toughest of the competition. Elk 3 beat 4 below town, a virtually featureless strip of shallow water, had bested eight anglers prior to our arrival on the final day of competition. Of the eight anglers only one had managed to hook and subsequently lose a single fish. Hopes were less than high going in, but the weather had warmed imperceptibly from the previous day we knew that there was at least one fish in the run. John won the coin toss and was the first to hook a small whitefish just prior to the changeover. He went on to hook a second one before I managed to finally land one. This pattern was repeated once more and we finished three to two, which turned out to be enough to take second and third on the session.

Our team faired well on the river as a whole, but certainly not as well as we would have hoped. Including the one I missed on, we drew a total of five river blanks and this pushed us well down in the standings in spite of session wins by Norm Godding and myself on the river.

Wrap-up:

The 2009 Competition, in spite of a few technical glitches, turned out to be a great contest. The selection of river and lake beats made things tough from the get go, but it bought out the best in many of the competitors. Only the most skillful of anglers could make a silk purse out of a pig's ear, and there was certainly more than a few "pig's ears" in this contest. As a result it was no surprise that some of the big players from last year's competition made their way to the top again. On Team Mustang's part this meant that our most experienced members, Norm Godding and Wayne Yoshizawa, managed to keep the team's fortunes alive.

We will see how things work out for upcoming contests, but the junior members of Team Mustang are already making plans to start working on our various weaknesses in preparation for future Nationals. Unfortunately Norm and Wayne won't have the same luxury, as Norm's strong showing was enough to gain him a position on the next Commonwealth Team heading for Wales in 2010, while Wayne will be joining the team heading to the US Nationals in Pennsylvania later this month. Congratulations to them both!

Sun Over the Elk River Final Day

Thank You's:

I just wanted to offer thanks to all the individuals and groups that made the 2009 National Fly fishing Championships such a success:

• Kevin McIsaac for organizing the event and herding us every morning through the competition
• Gord Silverthorne, of the Kootenay Fly Shop for his guidance and time in laying out the river beats
• Randy Taylor and John Nishi for laying out the Summit Lake venues
• Randy Taylor for leaving his fishing gear at home
  
• All those people that volunteered there time for the event including FFC's Bob and Brandy Sheedy, Neil, Marcell, Jeff, Aaron, et al.
• The NFFC competitors
  
• And most importantly the people of Fernie BC

On a personal note I would also like to thank Wayne Yoshizawa for being such a patient and thoughtful team captain; Norm Godding for being the team anchor and great story teller; Randy Paskall for his ongoing encouragement; Randy Patton for his companionship and his love of flytying; Leslie Godding for being the team cheerleader and social co-ordinator; Deb Paskall for being our all-round support staff (and for rescuing my forgotten gear from the hotel parking lot); John Nishi for providing such stiff competition on our shared river beats; Todd Oishi for his past tutoring; Don Chatwin of Moby Nets; Wei Zhao of Admundson Outdoors; Korker's boots; Roger Baker and Hatch Reels; and finally my darling wife, Sheila who has yet to divorce me over my other mistress (fly fishing).

Results:

The following are unofficial results provided by Todd Oishi of FFC (name placings/fish)

1. John Nishi 10/18
2. Ryan Suffron 14/21
3. Todd Oishi 15/19
4. Philip Short 17/22
5. Byron Shepard 18/23
6. Sorin Comsa 19/16
7. Norm Godding 20/14
8. Chris Pfohl 21/22
9. Robert Stroud 22/26
10. Morgan Thorp 22/12
11. Marius Dumitru 22/14
12. Jason Baxter 23/7
13. Clayton Hobbs 24/19
14. Clint Goyette 24/16
15. Ernie Kalawa 24/10
16. Peter Huyghebaert 25/8
17. Chris Iskiw 25/6
18. Ron Courtoreille 26/8
19. John Bisset 27/15
20. Graham Murfitt 27/5
21. Steve Harris 28/13
22. Derek Nees 29/17
23. Terence Courtoreille 29/8
24. Wayne Yoshizawa 29/8
25. Matthew Sparrow 29/7
26. Jonathan Furigay 30/11
27. Peter J. Morrison 30/11
28. Jason Doucette 30/4
29. Aaron Laing 31/11
30. Matt Majors 31/5
31. Ivo Balinov 33/15
32. Arron Varga 33/8
33. Randy Patton 34/4
34. Colin Dunn 35/3
35. Sunny VanDerKloof 36/3
36. Jim Iredale 37/7
37. JeanFrancois Lavalle 37/5
38. Colette Stroud 37/5
39. Alastair Grogan 37/3
40. Rick Passek 39/1
41. Randy Paskall 42/1
42. Rob Viala 42/1
43. Jeremiah Hamilton 45/1
44. Teri Crutcher 45/0
45. Jeff Weltz 45/0

Team Results:

1. The Cormorants 97/93
2. Team Double Hauls 112/69
3. Trout Rustlers 129/61
4. Team VIP 131/36
5. Team Endiable 145/61
6. Ospreys 146/55
7. Team Mustang 156/38
8. Team Tight Lines 184/32
9. Team Rio West Coast 198/8

A few good memories...

Coastal Cutthroat - A primer

A cool but sunny winter day. Your breath turning into puffs of steam as you crawl over that big boulder, rod clutched in your teeth so you can get a grip on the slippery rock. You slide down beside the rock and you find them--milling about in a pool you could almost reach across. You slip the line into the water--no need to cast and potentially scatter them, just let the current carry your small rolled muddler into the midst of them. The long leader straightens, and the line goes taught. A quick twitch or two at the right moment. A bright silver flash and you've got one dancing across the pool's surface. The rod, heavy in case the wind had come up, is really too much for the little trout and the fight ends sooner than you would like. You bring the fish to hand--a fat wild ten inches. A quick photo and it's back into the stream.

Standing up you stretch your back and for the first time take in the almost pristine surroundings. You think to yourself that this is the best place in the world--right here, right now--and you know that while you might talk about your trip, you're never going to give up the little pool to anyone.

*****

I wrote this as a tongue-in-cheek response to someone asking about where to fish for cutthroat in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. Now don't get me wrong-I'm not about keeping every spot I fish a secret, but when it comes to Coastal cutthroat (or cutts as we sometimes call them) there is a reason to be a little stingy with information...

When most western North American fishermen hear the word "cutthroat", visions of gentle Rocky Mountain streams, high sun and lively colourful trout usually spring to mind. But their coastal cousins conjure different images: mist capped Cascade mountains, cold spring air and sleek silver fish. They also conjure images of frustrated fly fisherman, shivering and looking at broad expanses of empty water, for this rare gem of a gamefish is notoriously nomadic.

The Coastal cutthroat, or Salmo clarki clarki, is one of two anadromous trout species on the west coast of North America (the other being Steelhead) and the only one recognized as a separate subspecies in its family. While Steelhead can range far inland, Coastal cutthroat are pretty well confined to coastal waterways, including estuaries, rivers and small streams from Northern California to Prince William Sound in Alaska.

Distinguished from their Rainbow relatives by the tell-tale red slashes on the lower jaw, coastal cutthroat at maturity range in size from as little as a few ounces to as much as 17 pounds or more depending on their environment. Like their relatives the anadromous steelhead, migratory Coastal cutthroat are generally larger than the resident fish in almost every system, the exception being lake-locked individuals which reach sizes far in excess of stream fish. While the larger fish can be targeted in some reservoirs such as those along the BC Sunshine Coast, the more common and usually more accessible individuals are the smaller migratory and stream resident fish--the former reaching sizes up to four pounds and the latter often topping out in the one to one and half pound range.

The Coastal cutthroat is really the alpha and omega of trout through much of its range. While the Pacific Northwest doesn't have a winter closure on most streams, it's really the cutthroat fishery that defines the fly fishing season here. In the early part of the year they forage sporadically for insect and small baitfish, but really become aggressive as the salmon fry hatch from February onward. In the latter part of the year as December rolls in they are usually the last to retire, gorging on the remaining flesh and eggs from the salmon migration.

The reference to the relationship between salmon and cutthroat is not accidental. Many of the high gradient streams in which the Coastal cutthroat live have relatively low PH and nutrient levels. The salmon play a key roll in re-energizing the nutrient levels in these streams, and Cutthroat have adapted closely to the life cycle of the salmon. Unfortunately the decline in many salmon runs coupled with overfishing of cutthroat in some regions during the 1960's and 70's has negatively impacted populations. Through proper management this trend is being reversed or at least curtailed, but the fact remains that these fish can be very sporadically distributed.

Couple this last fact with the nomadic tendencies of the Coastal cutthroat and it should come as no surprise that fisherman are loath to give up their sacred spots. Vague hints and directions to historical cutthroat spots are usually all one can expect when someone asks about where to fish for cutthroat, and also explains my initial response to the question at the start of this article.

Aaron

*****

Basic Equipment for Coastal Cutthroat:

• Rods: For larger water bodies where wind and distance are a factor a medium action, 9' to 9'6", 5 or 4wt rod is appropriate. For smaller streams and more protected waters 000 to 3wt rods are ideal. Most of my small stream fishing is done using a 8' 1wt rod.
• Lines: A floating line is a must, particularly on smaller waters--Dave Hughes called the cutthroat the perfect dry fly fish and you do not want to miss the opportunity to fish them dry if it arises. For winter fishing in larger waters a clear intermediate or a clear tip line (particularly during the fry migration) is a useful addition.
• Leaders: With floating lines (unless nymphing) keep them long and fine. While the Coastal cutthroat is not usually that fussy about flies, they can be leader shy. A 5x-6X fluoro or good quality mono is usually appropriate for tippet size.
• Flies: At a very minimum you should carry a range of baitfish and fry patterns, a selection of dries and soft hackles suitable for most hatches you might encounter (these can be fairly generic, but of an appropriate size and colour), a few colourful classic wets, and nymphs ranging from lightly weighted hare's ears to very heavy, beaded czech nymphs.
  

Where to look:

• In the early parts of the spring look to the back waters of major Salmon river systems, usually close to the mouths of known salmon spawning tributaries. In smaller systems deeper slow moving pools and salmon fry rearing habitat are good locations to concentrate.
  
• In the spring and summer look to estuaries and larger tributary streams for anadromous fish, and in smaller tributary streams for resident fish. Insects, sculpin, baitfish and crustaceans are major food sources.
  
• Coastal cutthroat seem to prefer gradually sloping pebble and rock beaches in larger water systems, but in smaller streams and tributaries they can be found primarily in pools, pocket water, back eddies and along seams.
• Cutthroat are sensitive to temperature variations. In warmer periods or during low water it's useful to concentrate on white water flows and plunge pools that provide both cover, cooler oxygenated water and ready feeding lies. Often the fish will lie right in the heaviest water and presentations need to be able to sink quickly.
• Fall heralds the return of the salmon and during this period look to waters immediately down stream of salmon spawning beds. At this time Cutthroat will take up position and concentrate on the abundant salmon eggs (initially) and flesh (later) that tumble down. At this time cutthroat can also be found in and around the salmon redds, but fishing for them here can be very difficult as you're just as likely to find a very large salmon as a cutthroat dancing at the end of your lightweight rod.
  
• In the early winter months, after the salmon spawning period, larger anadromous fish will migrate up streams to stage prior to their own spawning period. Larger fish can be found in even the smallest streams at this time and egg patterns can usually produce well.

****

Postscript: The fellow who originally asked where to look for cutthroat, did eventually manage to find and catch his first one just a little while ago. Time and effort well spent on his part.