Understanding the Hatch on the Crooked River
We continue our deep dive on underrated May hatches with one of our shop favorites — the Crooked River “Mother’s Day” Caddis (Brachycentrus americanus) hatch.
This one is pretty much just what it sounds like. Right around Mother’s Day each year, typically between early and mid-May, we see a massive emergence of adult Caddis along the eight miles of the Crooked River just below Bowman Dam.
Also called Grannom Caddis, these insects hatch in droves on warm spring days – think 75–80 degrees – and in some years, literal clouds of these size 14–16 bugs hang in the air all afternoon. Millions more crawl over the banks and bushes like a moving canopy.
Patterns
What’s fascinating (and sometimes frustrating) about these bugs is their inconsistent coloring. Year-to-year, even day-to-day, the Mother’s Day Caddis adults we see hatch range from dark olive and black to tan or even gray. The size range tends to stay pretty consistent, but you’ll want a wide variety of Caddis patterns in your box to ensure you can match the hatch.
Another obstacle you’ll sometimes have to work around is the sheer number of naturals on the water. Matching the hatch becomes even more critical; if you aren’t getting eats, you need to change the size or color of your pattern.
Classics like the Elk Hair Caddis in black, olive, and tan work well, as do more contemporary patterns like the X-Caddis (in all the same colors).
Presentation
While fly selection may take a bit of trial and error, presentation is simple. Look for fish actively rising to naturals, and put your fly in front of the fish! When it comes to Caddis, trout are fairly forgiving. Caddis are active, clumsy bugs that often bounce up and down on the water as they lay their eggs. A skitter or skate at the end of your drift is more likely to entice a fish to the surface than elicit a rejection.
On the Crooked, we often use a fairly short line so we can keep it largely off the water. That helps us avoid any unwanted drag in tight quarters, especially when we’re dealing with conflicting current speeds. In more open or uniform water, like a big still pool, we’ll use more line to create some distance between ourselves and the fish. But remember, on the Crooked, you’re almost always better off moving your feet to reach a rising fish than using more line.
In either case, we use a standard nine-foot tapered leader — preferably 5x, but 4x will work.
Water Type
This is a thick hatch, and you’ll find bugs all up and down the river in every water type. That said, the wider, medium-speed tail-outs and shallow, slower riffles tend to offer up the best angling opportunity. There is enough speed to the water that the fish have to make faster decisions, giving them less time to evaluate (or reject) your drift, but it’s still soft enough for fish to feed happily without expending too many calories.
In faster, deeper water, look for soft seams adjacent to faster current or target fish right along the edges of the bank. The naturals will ultimately tell you where to cast, as they land on the water and are sucked into feeding lanes.
Gear
The Crooked is best fished with a three or four-weight rod, a matching reel, and a weight-forward or double-taper floating line. A double-taper line will give you a more delicate presentation casting longer distances to spooky fish, while a weight-forward line will give you more control and power on a shorter cast. Eight to nine feet is the ideal length; a longer rod will give you more control over your flies when presenting on a short or tight line.
When to Go
This hatch will be at its best over the next 3–4 weeks, so be sure to budget some time to get over the mountain this month! And if you’d like us to show you the ropes, book your date with one of our incredible shop guides. May fills up fast, so don’t wait!