1. Troutnut Forum
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2. Specimen Discussion
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3. Emergence

I happened to be in the right place at the right time for my first Apple Caddis emergence a week or so ago, and caught fish on a Tulpehocken Creek Outfitter's emerger pattern that I tied years ago, but have never used before. It's something like a CDC mayfly emerger, tied on a scud hook, with a puff of CDC at the head to float the body, which remain subsurface. I also had tied in a few long Wood Duck barbules at the throat for legs. This experience led me to wonder if a similar fly might work for selective fish when dark Grannoms emerge. All day long during the Grannom hatch, I typically fish the CDC adult pattern that I posted a while back, and do OK, but last week the fish I was fishing over would have nothing to do with an Apple Caddis CDC adult during the emergence--though they took it during egg laying on flat water in the evening. Do the Grannoms and Apple Caddis have similar emergence behavior? I realize that a number of variables may have been at play. The fish I was fising over during the Apple Caddis emergence are notoriously picky, and they were feeding in a shallow riffle. The fish I target for dark Grannoms are in a different river and they are generally less picky, and see fewer flies. Also, I haven't fished over them for dark Grannoms in the same water type, usually fishing this hatch in deeper riffles and runs--and I may not have hit a concentrated emergence yet. Finally, does anyone know a good wet fly for the Apple Caddis? I'm assuming the pupa look enough like the adults that an apple green abdomen with a tan thorax and light hen hackle would work, but I'd be happy to see a recipe for a proven pattern. And any thoughts on the general topic would be welcome.