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3. ovipositing?

I had a large swarm of black sedges in a size 16 ovipositing today.the females hadvblack wings and body with a green egg sack was just wondering if that is this genus or something totally different

Welcome to the forum. They are most likely Brachycentrus (Grannoms).

Are you sure they were caddis and not stoneflies?
The larger "little black stones" (around a size 16) start to flutter around this time of year up here.
The egg sacks I see are yellowish on the stones.
I'm not sure of the timing of Grannoms or stones in N.C.

I was going to say the same Kurt but the description of the Black Wings had me wondering, really Btopbuckeye, It's virtually impossible to say with any kind of certainty what they may have been. But as Kurt pointed out they may have been Brachycentrus sp., the green eggs would be consistent with that. And I imagine you are a head of us here in PA with timing of hatches and we usually see Brachycentrus (Grannoms) in mid to late April here in southern PA. I've heard those Rainbows in the Nantahalla are beautiful fish! I'd like to see one up close and personal some day.

Given that the egg sacks were green, it would seem they were caddis of some sort. At least one hatch chart for the Smokies lists "Grannoms" this early:

http://www.perfectflystore.com/hcsmokymtns.html

And they provide specific information about the bug, which they call a "little black caddis":

http://www.perfectflystore.com/littleblcadisinfo.html

They identify the Grannom that hatches early in the Smokies as Brachycentrus occidentalis.

In regard to our Grannoms here in PA, one of Troutnut's bug experts, Lloyd Gonzales observes: "The collecting record shows two Brachycentrus spp. for Huntingdon County [PA]--B. numerosus and solomoni"; and he identifies numerosus as the species most commonly found on Penns Creek.

Eric, might the possible species difference at least partially explain the difference in hatch time, along with geographical differences?

Brian, The Nantahala is certainly a beautiful river; along with the Ocoee it was a favorite when I was a whitewater guide in North Carolina. We primarily frequented the lower reaches, taking out just after the first falls above the Nantahala Outdoor Center. I once saw a kid walking along one of the feeder streams to the Nantahala carrying a stringer of big rainbows. Obviously not a proponent of catch and release.

Kurt...Every darn hatch chart in this state still has the "Little Black Caddis" listed as Chimarra! And listed as an 16/18 hook!? Even after Carl Richards, no less, told them about, B lateralis, B numerosus, and B americanus...

I have made loud, Molson infused, bets to some folk here that they probably haven't ever seen a Chimarra.

Spence

yes