Depending on your point of view, lots of great things or lots of bad things came out of England during the 1980s. One thing's for certain, however: you don't need to pick good or bad when you're talking about British fly tyer John Goddard's unique and innovative caddis imitation.
Goddard's Caddis is a simple, yet durable and attractive fly pattern. It uses stiff, highly buoyant materials and packs a mean punch of realism that trout can't ignore.
With its long dual antennae, stiff forward hackle, and cleverly trimmed hair wing and body, the Goddard Caddis - Black Caddis sits low in both fast and slow water and is an excellent stand-in for a real Black Caddis emerger. You may love or hate Margaret Thatcher, but there's no flip-flopping on the Goddard Caddis!
Specifications:
- Developed in the 1980s by British fly tyer, John Goddard, the Goddard Caddis is a sterling example of effective fly tying material selection and fly pattern design
- Black Caddis imitation in the emerger life stage
- Use as either an impressionistic searching fly or as a realistic imitation when matching the hatch
- Check under rocks and streamside debris for dark caddis pupae and match size and color before offering a fly
- Fish on a dead drift low in the surface film
- Always observe at what depth in the water column the trout are feeding and match depth accordingly
- Hatches can occur throughout the day across North America
- The most prolific hatches occur in eastern North America during May, while the western watersheds see two stages of activity from April to May and July to August
- SIZE 18
When and Where to Fish the Goddard Caddis – Black Caddis
This caddis emerger can be fished as either an impressionistic fly pattern when searching for trout or as a realistic imitation when matching the hatch. There are literally thousands of highly localized species of caddis native to lakes, streams, and rivers across the globe. With so much variation it's often a best practice when fishing a caddis hatch to match color and size of the local species as closely as possible rather than worry about imitating a single specific species. This fly is highly effective in medium to high energy water; riffles, runs, tailouts, and current seams are prime real estate for this fly. Darkly colored caddis and sedges can be active throughout the year, but are especially prolific in the early spring in eastern North America and in the west from April to May and again in July to August.
How to Fish the Goddard Caddis – Black Caddis
Fish this fly low in the surface film on a dead drift. Before you make a cast, check underneath rocks and streamside debris for wriggling pupae, and match your offering to the size and color of these pending emergers. Use common short nymphing and swinging strategies and make sure to observe the depth at which the trout are feeding within the water column and match your dead drift presentation to that depth. Typically, early in a hatch, trout will feed on emergent caddis just above the riverbed. As the hatch wears on, however, these trout will often key in solely on the emergers and crippled emergers at or just below the water's surface, and this is where the Goddard Caddis shines. Swimming the fly at the end of the drift can also help to induce a strike from a feeding fish.
Black Caddis
Caddisflies are relatively large aquatic insects that provide hungry trout with an excellent source of nutritional protein. There are literally thousands of species of caddis across the globe so it's often helpful to generalize caddis by their color and size; an angler would have to have a thousand fly boxes to match every local species of caddis.
Not surprisingly, there are many species of darkly colored or black caddis available to trout. Most anglers will refer to a black caddis as an "American Grannom," which most of the time is probably not wrong, but is often not right. Again, the important elements of caddis imitation are size and color, not species-specific foolery.
Caddis, unlike mayflies and stoneflies, undergo complete metamorphosis, experiencing larva, pupa, and adult stages within a typical life cycle, rather than just a single nymph stage. During the larval stage, caddis look like tiny, segmented worms. These wormy creatures are classified as either cased caddis larvae or free-living caddis larvae.
Ideally, caddis emerge from their pupal shuck as quickly as possible as they are extremely vulnerable when hanging in the surface film. Once the winged adult caddis has fully emerged, it continues to act with a keen sense of urgency, wasting no time to flitter from the water's surface and to the safety of nearby trees and stream-side vegetation.
Adult caddis live significantly longer winged lives than mayflies and will spend up to two or three full weeks away from the water. When they're finally ready to mate, males will gather near their home water to form a swarm. Females will join the swarm to have their eggs fertilized. Once the mating process has been successfully completed, females will deposit their eggs on the water's surface, propagating the species.
Black Caddis Emerger Life Stage
Caddis are most vulnerable during their pupa and emergent stages, pupae, emerger, making emergent and cripple stages quite important to successful trout angling on a fly. Black caddis, like most caddis types or species, emerge quite rapidly, spending as little time in this most vulnerable stage as possible. Therefore, it's extremely important to recognize when trout are focusing their selective feeding on these emergers - catching a hatch at just the right time can render a slow day a fantastic day in a hurry.
Leland on Umpqua
In 1972 a man named Dennis Black and his fly tying skills found themselves in high demand. Mr. Black, then a professional production fly tyer, was famous in the industry for his unsurpassed skill and speed with whipping up tremendously beautiful and precisely constructed flies. It wasn’t long until this young fly tying superstar realized that he ought to take his consistent approach to quality to the next level. Shortly after this realization, a small army of fly tyers had banded together to support Mr. Black’s vision. With the likes of Dave Whitlock, Jack Dennis, and Andy Puyans, Mr. Black was officially in business.
Dennis Black’s new company Umpqua Feather Merchants quickly extended its reach and fly production capabilities with expansion into India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, where the world’s first and full blown “fly tying factories” were built. Since those early days, only the highest standard of excellence has marked Umpqua and this commitment to quality and efficiency continues to spur the company forward. Dennis Black’s innovative vision for “fly production” has truly revolutionized how the fly industry operates and has ultimately made the majority of production flies better. From the first “royalty system” for rewarding the most creative professional fly tyers to streamlining production systems and offering a range of other products, Umpqua Feather Merchants just seems to “do it all.”
Today, Umpqua Feather Merchants is without a doubt the world’s best and most prolific supplier of hand tied fly fishing flies as well as fly tying hooks and materials, and they recently got better! Umpqua’s brand new, state of the art headquarters in Louisville, Colorado marks another paradigm shift in the way fly tying business is done. From its vast warehouse to its specially designed inventory management and tracking system, Umpqua is poised to continue its energetic trajectory and lead the way for the next generation of flies and fly tyers.
Umpqua on Umpqua
"As you may or may not know, we're the largest producer of quality hand-tied flies in the world. We also make available through your local fly shop a wide array of the finest fly-tying hackle and Tiemco hooks.
At Umpqua we offer everything the angler needs to a have a first class fishing experience. (Everything that is, but the water and the fish.)"
Umpqua on Dennis Black and the “Obvious Quest”
“The idea first took shape in the hands of our founder, Dennis Black, back in 1972. As a fast and facile professional fly tyer, Dennis was known for his skill and speed at producing hundreds of dozens of flies each year for the larger mail order houses. But he was also quick to realize how fast the demand for excellent flies would outstrip the abilities of cottage industry types like him.
The Obvious Quest: To create excellent flies in sufficient supply – without sinking his standards. In response, Dennis developed (with characteristic care) a methodical plan: First, he enlisted the tying expertise of the likes of Dave Whitlock, Jack Dennis, Andy Puyans and others, to help him set the standard of excellence for Umpqua flies.
Next, Dennis established the first of what would eventually be five separate fly-tying “factories,” first in India, then in Sri Lanka, and finally in Thailand. The primary focus at each of these factories was on producing the very best fishing flies possible, constructed of the very best materials available. From the beginning, the quantity of flies produced was secondary to the quality and excellence of each fly pattern. These high standards were assured by the personal involvement of the fly designers themselves, and by the ever-increasing skill, imagination and creativity of the Umpqua production fly tiers. Today, you will find no flies more skillfully tied than those available from Umpqua Feather Merchants.
Finally, Dennis created a system of royalty payments, to reward professional tyers like Whitlock, Lefty Kreh, Randall Kaufman, Larry Dahlberg, and Bob Popovics for uniquely good patterns.
The Result: Today, Umpqua produces umpteen thousand dozen flies, from micro-scopic midge imitations to the huge patterns favored by marlin and sailfish. And the "Umpquality" – you’ll see for yourself.”