W8. The Light Cahill Wet Fly
WET FLY PATTERNS. Hook size 12 14 - $US each
From the middle of May to September, depending on where you live, hatches of different varieties of light colored mayflies now commonly known as Light Cahills can be found. This is a recent collective common name that covers many groups of the Heptageniidae family of mayfly insects. In the 1880's a New York railroad worker called Daniel Cahill developed a fly that became famous all over America, the Light Cahill. When he wasn't fishing or tying flies he was a brakeman on the old Erie and Lackawana Railroad. It is a great general imitation of summer mayfly duns. Just choose the hook size and color to match your local hatch. It was originally designed to imitate a family of mayflies with the name of Stenonema. They begin hatching in late May and continue through June. In smaller sizes the Light Cahill is a useful fly to imitate hatches of Pale Morning Duns, Pale Watery Duns, Spurwings, Pale Evening Duns and the Red Quill Mayfly. The Pale Morning Dun (PMD) hatch is normally in the summer and massive in numbers, triggering aggressive trout feeding. The hatch normally happens in slow, clear water. The PMD is normally best matched with a size 18 hook fly. The Red Quill mayfly is not as widespread as other mayflies but if they live in the river you are fishing, you will find that this fly is an important insect to have imitations of. The reason being is that they occur in large numbers when they hatch and these are the flies that the trout want. Hatches are normally in the afternoon.
Dan Cahill is also credited with the unscheduled stocking of some Eastern North American rivers and streams with Rainbow trout. The story goes that on one steamy hot summer's day Dan was working a Lackawana freight train north of Port Jervis. The train's progress was blocked by a derailed work train. Part of the freight being carried that particular day was a large water container full of live stock rainbow trout. They were starting to cook. They would not survive the delay. Dan took action to save them from certain death. He talked his work mates into helping him carry them back to Calicoon Creek and let them go free. It was almost a mile back along the tracks. Their offspring have eventually spread throughout the whole Delaware watershead.
Art Flick in his book "Stream Guide to Natural and their Imitations" said of the Light Cahill pattern, "To this date I have never met a fisherman who had fished any stream where trout could not be taken on this fly. It is doubtful if any fly compares with it in popularity, especially in the East."
Ray Bergman author of "Trout" in 1938 commented on the light Cahill, "If it was necessary to confine my assortment of flies to only two or three, this would be one of them." He stated that although it is particularly effective in Catskill waters and similar mountain streams it had served him well in Michigan, Wyoming and California. He said, it is a "killing fly."
WET FLIES
A wet fly is designed to be fished below the water's surface.
They are tied as deceivers or attractors. The success of the wet fly often depends far more on its
action in the water than on its resemblance to a particular insect, but this is
not always the case. When fish are on the feed the actual pattern is generally
not important, but when the fish are preoccupied or need tempting the angler
must use ingenuity to discover what the fish are feeding on and what color they
are taking. When fishing wet flies, it is important to remember that the higher
the wave on the water the higher the fly hook size can be, but still take into
account the brightness and clarity of the water.
Trout do see subsurface insects with wings. Some flies begin to hatch below the water surface. The Baetis group of up-winged flies swim or crawl beneath the surface as adult spinners in order to lay egg. There are occasions when duns and spent spinners are swamped by the current and forced under the water surface. Emerging duns that have been unable to get rid of their nymphal case or at the time of emerging are drowned when they float under rough water that is flowing over a large rock or ledge are also hunted by the fish. The trout on purpose lurk in slack water near eddies and small plunge pools to look out for these type of snacks. Clearly a trout does see winged insects under the surface at certain times of the year so be prepared with a selection of different colored wet flies for when the fish are not taking from the surface.
FLY FISHING TACTICS FOR FISHING IN THE RAIN
I like to fish wet flies in the rain. If you are one of those
fine weather fishermen you are missing a lot of sport. On sunny days the fish
swim near the bottom of the river, lake or stream for a number of reasons. They
do not have eye lids and the sun can damage the eyes. More importantly the
warmer the water becomes the less oxygen it can hold. Fish find warm water
uncomfortable. The colder the water temperature the more oxygen the water can
hold. When it rains the disturbance caused on the water surface
increases the oxygen content of the upper levels of water because when the water
droplets force their way through the water surface air gets trapped behind it.
If it is raining it normally means the sky is overcast and therefore the
temperature of the water decreases. This cooling effect is also helped by the
rain drops which are normally cold and help cool the upper water levels of the
lake or river to a more pleasant fish friendly environment.
They feel safer as choppy water makes them invisible to birds of prey. Heavy rain will knock airborne and surface insects down and into the water. More fish than normal rise from their bottom feeding location to the surface to feed from this bounty of drowned insects. Heavy rain also washes terrestrial insects like ants, beetles and Hoppers into the water from the land, overhanging trees and shrubs. Summer storms are primetime for subsurface fishing with a wet fly. Further advantages of fishing in heavy rain is that perfect fly presentation is less important. A fish who is stimulated by the abundance of drowned insect food, whilst on the look out for predators, will not have time to consider such things.
When the all the fair-weather fishermen are hiding under trees, in fishing huts or in their cars to keep dry, you will reap the rewards of some exciting fishing if you stay out in the rain. Just cast out your fly and let the rain drown it, just like what is happening to the real insects. Do not add any floatant. It is best to cast frequently as you will cover more water and I have found that the fly is normally taken just after it has broken the water surface. Fishing in heavy rain is an ideal time to try out new patterns . Trout have learned to expect a variety of different foods, not normally available to them,
MOUNTAIN WHITEFISH
These game fish are very abundant throughout Alberta, British Columbia and many
of the western states of the USA. The most popular flies are beaded Prince's
Nymph, Gold Ribbed Hares Ears and wet flies like the Royal Coachman in size #12
to #16. Some of the more popular streams for mountain whitefish in Alberta are
the Athabasca, North Saskatchwan, Red Deer, Bow, Highwood, Sheep, Oldman,
Livingstone, Crowsnest, Castle, Waterton, Belly and St Mary rivers. Spawning
occurs from late September to early November over gravelbeds. The eggs are
broadcast not buried in s redd like salmoniods. They are a long lived species
with a 20 year old specimen being recorded in a reservoir and they can grow to
over 5lbs. Autumn fall period is the traditional time to catch mountain
whitefish, as after gathering to spawn in late August they move into over
wintering pools where they remain until spring breaks. Use a pair of polarized
sunglasses. They tend to move around a lot. Look for flashes of silver as they
jostle for position in the current. It is not uncommon to find over 50 fish hold
up in the same pool. During the summer Mountain whitefish tend to favour turbulent
pocket water as well as deep runs and large pool. Mountain whitefish are
popular as a table fish and fantastic when smoked - particularly the smaller
ones.
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