There is no better indicator as to when springtime has arrived than warm sunny days and blanket caddis hatches. After a long winter here in Big Sky, and one final week of heavy snow paired with cold temps, we are excited to announce that better weather and heavy hatches are here!

While the Caddis are not necessarily the first hatch to happen, they are certainly one of the most exciting. Before we see the Caddis emerge, we have some very productive midge and baetis hatches that give anglers a fun break from the winter program of being cold, fishing with nymphs, and wishing it were summer! Getting to fish a good Blue Winged Olive (baetis) hatch is a wonderful experience but on our rivers we don't usually see blanket hatches like we do with the Mother's Day Caddis. While the name is fun, the hatch rarely ever happens right on Mother's Day, however, this year it was pretty darn close!

The Lower Madison River is home to some of the warmest weather and earliest hatches in Southwest Montana, and is usually where you begin to see Caddis show up first. The Yellowstone River can be host to some epic hatches as well but can be extremely tricky to time because of unpredictable spring weather and the beginning of runoff. With the Lower Madison being a tailwater, it is much more protected during runoff and can be dependable for great hatches.

When the water temperatures are consistently getting into the 52-54 degree Fahrenheit range, the adults will start to hatch and with that the feeding frenzy of trout begins. Having flies that cover all life stages of the Caddis: larvae, pupa, and adult is very important because at different times of day, the fish will be feeding on one or all life stages of this insect. When the hatch is first starting the dry fly fishing can be limited as most fish are feeding on emergers so it is always great to pair up a larvae and pupa pattern to start. In the afternoons and evenings are when the dry fly fishing can be the best because of the large number of adult caddisflies and females that are returning to the river to lay eggs. 

Here are some of our favorite patterns to have in the box for each life stage:

Larvae:                                                                            Pupa:                                                                                                   Adult(Dry Fly):

-Guide's Choice Hares Ear (tan) #14-16                      -Daniel's Chewy Caddis #14-16                                                         -Cornfed Caddis #14-16

-Boroff's Bling Caddis (olive) #16                                 -Ice Pupa (green) #16                                                                          -Jake's All Season Caddis (tan) #16-18

-Lite Brite Perdigon (green) #14-18                              -Jiggy Duracell (brown) #16                                                               -Big Boned Caddis (olive,tan) #16

With those flies in the box you will have the bases covered when it comes to fishing the Mother's Day Caddis hatch. The spring hatch is already rolling and there are a few other bugs that have joined the mix. In Southwest Montana we have multiple species of Caddisflies that will hatch throughout the summer all the way into October. Having multiple colors and sizes of the same fly will keep you finding success even when it is a different type of Caddis that is hatching. The specific pattern you throw is not the biggest concern but making sure you closely pair size and color to what the fish are actually eating will make your efforts more effective.

Interested in what other bugs might be hatching? Check out our fishing reports for the latest happenings on our favorite rivers and be prepared before you get to the river. For real-time updates head to our shop in Big Sky, Montana, or give us a call at (406)995-2290.

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