- Home Waters, No. 3
- Home Waters, No. 2
- Home Waters, No. 1
Favorite Fly with Walt Young
Grannoms: Top to Bottom
I could easily fill two pages of this issue with stories about the great fishing I¹ve experienced during the grannom hatch over the last ten years. But because I¹m not afforded that kind of space, I¹ll settle for saying those early-season caddis hatches can be absolutely incredible.
I've found a handful of fly patterns that will cover just about any situation one is likely to encounter when grannoms are on the water. For a dry fly, a basic hair-wing caddis pattern, tied in size 14 or 16, works well. The body is black dubbing, and the wing is natural deer hair, about one-and-a-half times as long as the body. I will also tie some with either black or grizzly hackle palmered through the body.
The hackled version will float a little better in fast or broken water. It can also be skittered slightly on the surface to imitate the hatching behavior of the naturals. The no-hackle version presents a more natural silhouette on flat water where the fish have the opportunity to get a good look at the fly before taking it. The no-hackle is also a good choice after the egg-laying flights that occur in the late afternoon or early evening, when the spent females fall to the water and drift helplessly with the current.
During grannom time, I¹m never without a selection of soft-hackle wet flies in size 12 or 14. I tie them with a body of black dubbing or peacock herl and a couple of turns of brown or gray partridge hackle. These simplistic patterns can be extremely deadly when fished to imitate the emerging caddis pupae.
I round out my selection of grannom patterns with some bead-head nymphs in size 12 and 14. These, too, can be simple: black dubbing or peacock herl for the body with a gold or black bead. I¹ll often go with these flies for fishing deeper pools and runs, especially during the middle of the day. In fact, I took my best fish during the grannom hatch last season, a magnificent 24-inch rainbow, on one of these bead-heads.
