from Amprods.Se 
not a ‘fishing’ insect in the sense that we’d want to imitate them with our flies but one we all must have to deal with at one time or another. it’s not like seeing how beautiful the emerging beast will make us feel any better when the female takes out flesh and blood from our exposed skin but it’s still nice to watch. enjoy !
Stonefly exoskeletons (order: Plecoptera) found near a french Pyrenean river. it’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly but i believe them to be of the Leuctra ariega species even if they seem to be a bit too big for that particular bug.
whatever they are they’re beautiful and i know the trouts like them too…
yet another display of an ‘artiste’s’ deviation of what is more than beautiful in it’s natural form, here destroyed by mindlessly adding ‘precious’ items in a fit of irresponsible ‘cleverness’ all the while further continuing the worship created around objects that, once the glitter is washed away are based on slavery, death and keeping poor people poorer.
this is not clever, pretty or interesting. this is worthless, tacky, conceptual trash and nothing more.
nature in it’s very uncalculated manner produces beauty very well on it’s own and it is not a toy for the selfish to play with.
i’ll take my caddis cases ‘au naturel’, thank you…
the images in the slideshow are from The Biofresh Cabinet of Freshwater Curiosities. click the link to learn more about (natural) caddis larvae cases and how they are produced. enjoy !
i’m going off to talk to the trout for a few days next to the Norwegian border and wanted to leave you some creepy-crawly caddis portraits for your enjoyment.
there may or may not be internet connexion but i’ll try to post at least some images during the stay.
and the weirdest and rarest one of all, a USNM Trichoptera
image source: Google Images
enjoy and have a great week-end !
starring:
Chimarra caddis larva
Rhyacophila caddis larva
Hendrickson – Ephemerella subvaria
Cased caddis – Brachycentrus?
Quill Gordon – Epeorus Plueralis
Light Hendrickson – Ephemerella invaria
Brown stoner
Little brown stonefly/Willowfly
well, they’re small enough to be really hard to see and easily trip over…
anyway, whatever they are, there’s more and more of them in a lot of trout waters around the globe as the typical caddis, mayflies and stoneflies are having a hard time with mankind and what we’re doing to the aquatic systems. midges thrive just about everywhere at just about anytime of the year and in some areas, become the primary food source for salmonids and other bug eating species.
today’s film is chapter five of the seminal documentary ‘Bugs of the Underworld’ by Lisa and Ralph Cutter. yes, a lot of you have heard about it for years but it’s still a reference and an amazing film every freshwater fisher should own and study because we get to see how the bugs we try so hard to imitate look and behave in real life and not how some fly tier steeped in someone else’s tradition decided they should look.
we’ll also notice that the highly sought after ‘dead-drift’ might not always be in sync with what the real bugs are doing. in short, most bugs are a lot more alive than our stuffy imitations.
there are trillions of nice midge imitations out and about but here are a few recent ties that caught my eye.
Tim Barker
KG’s Fullback/Foamback Midge…Glissmeyer/Variant…Chocolate, #18-#22
Andy Baird
(Andy gets bonus points for the name !)
Al’s Rat midge pupae by Tightline Productions
and just in case you’re one of those flat-earther, keds wearing, climate change denying, bamboo shwooshing mayfly dryfly-only purist types, here’s proof that trout are already drastically changing their feeding habits…
more than just being able to enjoy watching these critters in their watery world, this video shows us some interesting aspects of the naturals that might be beneficial to keep in mind when recreating them at the bench.
while a lot of artificial nymph bodies are rigid, we’ll notice that the naturals bend quite a bit around the abdomen area, specially while swimming. this bend can go up as well as down, meaning that the conventional way of imitating them, with the tail and abdomen bent in a downward position is only half correct.
when they’re not swimming a good number of mayfly nymphs have an enormous amount of movement once again in the abdomen area but this time because of their breathers flapping back and forth to collect air.
many tiers have included these elements in the form of articulated bodies and ostrich herl or cdc breathers, just name a few, but there’s still a lot of possibilities left in fly design. a little imagination and experimentation with different materials just might bring on a new wave of nymph design.
of course, we can rightfully argue (and i’m one of them !) that most of the time, such details aren’t of any practical significance as many imitations that don’t really imitate anything at all are equally effective but i guess that as fly tiers, we’re all after the elusive dream of coming up with the next ‘miracle’ fly, the one that will turn on the fish when everything else leaves them indiferent !
source: Tightline Productions
a little-known fact about a little-known bug. apparently this little Water Boatman, formally known as Corixidae can sing his ‘head’ off through stridulation (rubbing body parts together) at a sound level of 99.2 decibels, the equivalent of listening to a loud orchestra play while sitting in the front row !
click on the pic above for the full BBC article and listen to their special song.
imitations of these little bugs in stillwaters can be of great interest for the fly fisher. they’re very effective when the real ones are out, not difficult to tie, they have rather looney swimming patterns that are fun to try to imitate during the retrieves and now that we know how sexy they are it can all add up for an amusing time on the water.
as fly tiers, it’s always a fun challenge to find better ways to imitate creatures and the boatman has brought on a whole new dimension. i’ll work myself raw if i have to but getting the sound just right for this one has become an obsession ! i’ll let you know how it goes.
SOURCE: BBC Nature
