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RETURN to Putah Creek Trout -> Putah Creek Fly Fishing Forum -> Putah Creek Fly Fishing -> Entomology
Post Info TOPIC: Entomology
ChucktheDuck


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Entomology
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I made it out to the creek at about 6pm after work today.  Did a little streamer fishing around access 5 with no luck, but I was mostly just poking around and exploring.  Around sundown I began to notice some duns on the surface so I broke out my dip net an started taking a closer look.  I was surprised by the variety of different bugs I came up with.  The duns were mostly blue wing olives I believe in about 18-20 hok size.  They were a very light olive/almost pale yellow color with little black eyes and grayish blue wings.  There were also some with big reddish orange eyes and a gray/brown tint over the pale olive body.  I think these were the males.  For the first time I witnessed duns struggling to break free of their shuck, and I even netted a few emergers.  These had dark bodies of olive/brown/gray with a well defined thorax and small gnarled wing stubs.  Im actually not sure if these were cripples or just emerging flies.  There were also a few spent mayflies in the film.  These were either rusty brown or dark grey.  All were the same size. Can anyone who is good at entomology define this for me?  I also found a bunch of size 20 midges in olive and black and some spotted sedges (hydropsyche).  There weren't many rises where I was at but I did see a trout sipping at something behind a big fallen log.  Hopefully this is helpful to some of you hatch matchers out there, it looks like mayflies are the ticket at the moment.
Charlie

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JT


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Rusty spinners can produce some nice trout.  There are many species that are a rusty brown color in the spinnner stage, BWO's being among them.  There's quite a bit of variation between the various species, though.  There have also been some trico spinner falls.  Some have a light-colored abdomen and black thorax (females?), and others are almost all black (males?).

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JL


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Yesterday on the creek there was a good mayfly hatch (smallish baetis I think) around 10:30 or so.  Lasted for about a hour and the small fish were active on the surface.  At night, there were more baetis, and a few caddis.  Not many midges that I could see.  I agree with your assessment that mayflies (for dries) are where it's at.  However, under the water (see my report) the fish are gorging on green caddis larva (at least in faster water).

JL



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shon42073


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Are the caddis larvae also whats called a green rockworm ? My entomology is not very good, but i'm working on it.

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ChucktheDuck


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you are correct Captain.  Although there are at least three different species of caddis I have identified on putah and there are probably a lot more, the green rock worm is the larvae of hydropsyche or spotted sedge. The larvae is green, has no case and climbs from rock to rock using a sort of underwater spiders silk.  I saw a few adults coming off and many more pupal shucks, but I didn't get a chance to see any fish eating the larvae.  I did however catch a nice wild rainbow on a rock roller (rockworm imitation) a couple days ago and if you turn over a few stones you will doubtless find bunches of them.  The other caddis that seem to be important during the spring are the glossosoma.  The little piles of pebbles you see stuck to all the rocks on putah are the cases glossosoma larvae make for themselves.  When JT catches a hundred fish on a tan pox poopah he is imitating the pupal form of those little guys!  Hope this helps your ent. a little.  Ralph Cutter's "sierra trout guide" is a great, no nonsense book with good info on locating fish, techniques, and entomology/fly patterns. It is totally geared towards the sierra west slope so the bugs in there should be found on most streams in california.  Great place to start if you want to learn entomology without making things too complicated.
why are my posts always so long?
good fishin! -Charlie

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JT


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Actually, the term "green rockworm" refers to the larvae of the genus Rhyacophila (green sedges).  Instead of building a net like the hydropsychids, they are free-living.  They are long and skinnier, more worm-like.  Whereas Hydropsychids are fatter in the larval form.

   



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ChucktheDuck


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Oh, thanks for the clarification JT. Do the Rhyacophila live in putah too? It seems like every creek I have been to has like fifty species of caddis!! I've also seen some Brachycentrus there with the little tube cases.
charlie

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JT


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There are tons of Hydropsyche in the creek, and I'm sure there are Rhyacophila as well.

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ChucktheDuck


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What about october caddis? I want to fish somewhere that has those and catch some fat trout on fat bugs!!

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cole


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No Octobers to the best of my knowledge but sometimes yellow sallies.  Awhile back I caught a fish on a PT and the fish had a large rockworm on it's tongue.  He hadn't even finished his appetizer yet and was ready for round two.  I have developed about 4-5 patterns over the last year and haven't caught a single fish on one.  Not that it can't be done.  Given the number of very small mays and midges right now, and hopefully some caddis soon there's lots to eat.  The fish may not see many drifting rockworms?  Many October's are case builders and big too.  You couldn't miss em.

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Otter


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Chuck,

There are tons of october caddis on the upper sac. I haven't been up there lately, but now is about when they are going off. An orange stimulator works well. For a nymph try tying an orange caddis on a size 10 200R. Put lead on the hook use hen neck for legs, krystal flash for ribbing and black ostrich at the top.

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ChucktheDuck


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Hey Otter thanks for the info and the snazzy pattern. There is something about big bugs that just gets me (and every other fly fisherman) going. I think that is why I love bass fishing so much!
Charlie

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JT


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There are lots of October Caddis on the Truckee River as well.  You can't miss them.  They're huge.

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WytEurp


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Huge Dragon Fly hatch today at about 930am. Hundreds in the air so many I had to stop fishing and just watch for a while. 3 to 4 inches long green thorax with a little blue on the back, and a pink/tan abdomin.

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Matt R


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Any big trout trying to smack the dragon fly's?
How's the fishing this morning?



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WytEurp


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I got skunked this morning but that is probubly because Im still trying to figure it out. Im having a hard time casting my rod with all the split shot and cant the flys out far enough. I have a 7 1/2" 4wt rod and its just not beefy enough. It will be a couple of months before I can up grade.

I met Gordon today. Very nice guy gave me alot of good advise and a couple of flys, thanks a million. It looked like he pulled some fish but I was having a hell of a day.

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JL


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Wyat:

You'll want a 5 wt at a minimum for sure to chuck indicators & weight all day.

I posted a pic of the dragonfly that ate my fly the other night.  It's in another post - but I think they're the same.

JL

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WytEurp


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Yes, they were the same type as JL's photo.

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bonefish1


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Wyat,

Are you a member of the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club(GGACC)in the city? It has the world's largest casting ponds. Great place to practice your casting and get info on tying and rods and everything fly fishing. There are always people there selling rods for cheap. Ask for Armando and he might know someone with a used rod.

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WytEurp


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No, I live in Fairfield and would not be able to get out to the park much. Might not be a bad idea to touch base with him to get a used rod. Im going to be doing most of my fishing at Putah would you guys suggest a 5wt or 6wt.

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bonefish1


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I use a 5 weight, Sage rod. Perfect for slinging weight and still have a soft presentaion. I have heard of people using a 6 weight to cut through the wind.

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shon42073


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every summer the dragon flys hatch but i never here about anyone using dragon or damsel fly nymphs. I have a few that have never been used, maybe i'll give em a try.

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shon42073


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When I was fishing at putah yesterday I started looking around in the rocks and sand to see what I could find, Lots of small rockworms, Thats what i think they were, But i also picked up several very small worms, they looked like tiny redworms, they were brown and about an inch or so long, maybe a little longer, And very thin, There were quit a few of em, Anyone know what these were ? Unfortunetly With every handful of gravel I picked up there were quit possibly a hundred or so mudsnails cry

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JT


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They sound like aquatic worms to me.  There are tons of them on the Truckee.  They could also be nematodes.

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bonefish1


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San Juan's might work? confused

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WytEurp


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Can anyone recomend a good bug book....half of what makes this sport so fun for me is learning about the bugs....

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shon42073


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I got a good book at a local barnes and nobles, called handbook of hatches, By Dan Hughes, Its called the introductry guide to the foods trout eat and the most effective fly's to match them. Pretty good for a rookie entomologist like myself.

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WytEurp


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Good deal thanks Captain

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bkerbs


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WytEurp, check out www.westfly.com. Its has some good general knowledge of bugs.

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WytEurp


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Thanks Bkerbs

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