“I can remember it vividly,” Greg told us. “I planned to go down to the Arkansas River and fish. I knew I was going to get a late start that day. I had read some reports, and the fly shops down there were saying that the fish weren’t interested in dry flies until the evening, because there were so many caddis on the water. There was a huge blanket hatch of caddis from bank to bank.”
Getting to Know Greg
We recently had the opportunity to spend time chatting with our friend and previous shop Manager, Greg Garcia. In celebration of Mother’s Day coming up this week, we wanted to hear the story of how Greg developed his Mother’s Day Caddis, and what sets it apart as one of the great caddis patterns today.
If you don’t already know Greg Garcia, he’s an Umpqua Signature Tyer with seven original patterns currently in production, in a variety of colors and variations. He’s been a figure in the Colorado fly fishing and fly tying scene for years.
At the time this story takes place, Greg was a part-owner at the old Trout’s fly shop when it was on South Gaylord Street in Denver. Greg later went on to be involved at other local shops, tying classes and events, including seven years as the manager here at Anglers All. He’s also a patient and observant angler, qualities that have made him an excellent tyer.
The Mother’s Day Caddis
Known as the Mother’s Day Hatch, this annual emergence of caddis on the Arkansas river typically begins in late-April around Canyon City, and then works its way upstream as water temperatures warm.
“During these blanket hatches of caddis, the fish wouldn’t start looking up until the evenings, when they’d begin eating the egg-layers,” Greg continued. “In years past, I had noticed these bugs hovering over the river right at twilight. When they were backlit, you could see the small but very distinctive green egg sacs on the females.”
Greg explained that because this happens at the very end of the day, many anglers never have the opportunity to witness it. Occurring just before dark, most of the daily fishing crowd has usually packed up and is headed home.
“With this in mind, I planned my day so that I would get down there and stay late,” he said. “I ran down to my tying room, with the intention of tying up some egg-laying caddis. But I didn’t have any type of bright green dubbing in my arsenal.
“Then, I remembered I had these Japanese beads, because at the time, Spirit River was bringing them to the fly-tying market. I’d brought some home from the fly shop and threw them in a drawer. They’d been there for months without any ideas of how I would use them.
“The light suddenly went on and I realized I could use these beads. They were bright green, with a silver lining, which made them very bright. They would make the perfect egg sac.
Greg said that at the time, the most popular caddis dry fly was Puterbaugh’s Caddis. According to Greg, Don Puterbaugh was known as the dean of the Arkansas, because he would fish there about 200 days a year and he continued to do so well into his late-80s.
“It was a foam-bodied caddis,” Greg explained. “Don chose black foam and a bleached, yearling elk hair wing. His theory was that during these caddis blanket hatches, the fish would pick his fly out of all the naturals because of its silhouette. They would see that dark body silhouetted against the almost white wing, and they’d eat his fly. And it was very good. That fly worked extremely well and for years, it was the fly we all fished during the Mother’s Day caddis hatch.”
So Greg’s idea was to use the green bead for the egg sac, and then retain a black body using black dubbing.
“The first versions I tied had an underwing of CDC for floatability, and then the elk hair,” Greg said. “Then I added a hackle front, like the Hemingway style of caddis with the hackle at the front of the fly.”
Greg took his new fly down to the Arkansas River later that day.
“I remember I got to the river about 3:00, I was a little early,” he told us. “It was a bright day, probably the worst thing you want. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I walked down to the river, and there were caddis from bank to bank. And not a single fish rising.
“So I thought to myself, ‘Well, I don’t want to kill time sitting at a restaurant or a coffee shop. I’m just going to get ready.’ So I got suited up. I tied on an orange stimulator, about a size 14 so that I could see it. And then I tied my new fly on behind it, about 18 inches back.
“I went to a spot where I would normally catch fish and on my third cast, a fish ate the new fly. I landed the fish and dried the fly with some Frog’s Fanny. I made another cast and caught another fish. To my astonishment, I must have caught 30 fish that afternoon. I didn’t even have to wait for the evening egg-layers. I was definitely satisfied.”
As Greg drove home that evening, he thought about how he would have to tie more of these flies and come back the following week. But the day before he was supposed to come back, the river blew out. It was suddenly mud season.
“I had to wait an entire year – at least in my mind – to really test it again,” Greg continued. “When caddis season arrived the next year, I ran right back down there. And I got the same results. I fished a different part of the river. And there weren’t as many caddis on the water. But it was just fish after fish.
“So then I started tying them up for friends, I gave some to the guys I worked with at the shop, and I gave them to customers who were going up to West Yellowstone and other areas. The feedback was extremely positive.”
Finally, about three years after that first day of fishing his new caddis pattern on the Arkansas, Greg sent his fly to Umpqua.
“Maybe it’s to a fault, but I’ve always wanted to make sure a fly works before I send it in,” Greg explained. “Sometimes flies will live in my box for years. Before submitting the Darth Baetis, I had been fishing that fly, or a version of that fly, for seven years.
“So anyway, I sent it to Umpqua. They called me back, and they were excited about the fly. But they wanted to see a version that didn’t have the CDC underwing. They felt most anglers wouldn’t understand the CDC, they would treat it with gel floatant, and then the fly would sink. Because of that, they were afraid it would get a bad rap right out of the gate.”
As a quick aside, here’s a quick explanation of CDC for those who aren’t familiar. CDC (Cul de Canard) feathers are naturally fluffy, water resistant and they have a natural shape that traps air bubbles. These little air bubbles not only make the feathers buoyant. They also refract light, similar to the bubbles under the wing of a caddis pupa. This makes CDC an excellent material for imitative dry flies and emergers.
The trouble with CDC, is that applying gel floatants can actually have the opposite of the intended effect, causing the CDC to become matted, lose its shape, and sink. When using flies with CDC, anglers must use a desiccant-style floatant like the Tiemco Dry Magic or Loon Lochsa.
With the feedback from Umpqua, Greg took his caddis pattern back to the vise. Eliminating the CDC underwing, Greg decided to add a small amount of Crystal Flash to the wing. This would provide that light refraction and help reflect the colors of the bead.
He re-submitted the fly to Umpqua, and they said it was perfect. That was the start of Garcia’s Mother’s Day caddis.
A Year-Round Fly Pattern
“Later, we developed a yellow sally version, with a yellow body and an orange egg sac,” Greg added. “I have tied in in gray, tied in in browns. And I fish it year-round now. Like last fall, I was on the upper Arkansas, and there was a good evening Caddis Hatch. I was fishing a different pattern and suddenly, the fish just completely turned off. It was like a switch flipped. They wouldn’t eat my fly. We all know how that goes.
“So I was digging through my box and I thought to myself, ‘Why not fish one of your own patterns, Greg?’ Which funny enough, I sometimes forget to do. I tied on a size 16 or 18 Mother’s Day Caddis, and they just started crushing it again. I’ve learned over the years, even though it’s called a Mother’s Day Caddis, it works all the time.”
Greg’s Dry Fly Fishing Tips
“Let’s say you encounter a massive hatch like the ones we often see on the Arkansas,” Greg offered. “Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish your fly from all the naturals. Or maybe the light is making it tough to spot your fly. In these situations, I start off with a 9-foot, 4x or 5x leader and I’ll tie a little bit bigger dry fly on first. Like a size 12 or 14 orange stimulator is a great example. But you could use a Hippie Stomper, or a small hopper, or any bigger dry fly that you have confidence in.
“Then off the bend of the hook, I’ll use a piece of 5x tippet, come back about 18 inches and tie on a Mother’s Day Caddis. That way, I can see that bigger fly fall and from there, it’s usually easy to spot where the smaller fly has landed. That might also be a helpful tip for beginners who are still working on their accuracy. They can spot that big fly, and then find the smaller fly.”
Greg also emphasized the importance of keeping your dry flies dry.
“Don’t underestimate how much a soggy fly can prevent you from getting dry fly eats,” Greg said. “I re-powder my flies constantly. If I make five casts and I don’t get an eat, I’ll bring my flies in and powder them up. I find that the drier my fly is, the more eats I will get. If the fly gets super saturated from a lot of fish eating it, there’s nothing wrong with cutting that off, check your tippet for nicks or wind knots, and then tie on a fresh fly.
“It’s amazing to me how many times I’ll see a fish rise and cast to it with a semi-soggy dry fly, only to get rejected. So, I’ll dry off the fly and re-cast it. Then on the very first drift, they’ll eat it. That happens to me all the time. Remember, they like a dry, dry fly.”
Finally, Greg suggested that anytime you’re dry fly fishing, it’s important to pay attention to leader length.
“I think sometimes we get into little habits, and the leader we’re using can be one of them,” he explained. “Like this spring, I’ve been fishing the South Platte all through the blue winged olive hatch. The first week, the fishing was great. You could throw any size 18 BWO and they’d eat it. The second week, I had to go down to a size 20 fly and smaller tippet.
“By the third week, they would come up and bump the fly with their nose and then swim away. Then the fourth week, I was getting completely shut out. I was scratching my head. And then I realized I might need a longer leader. So, I tied on a 12-foot, 5X leader with a couple feet of 6X tippet. It was like night and day. I started catching fish again like day one.”
According to Greg, we sometimes just need to be willing to break a routine and remember to make those small adjustments. Most of the time, they are probably things we already knew. We just get into our habits that give us confidence, and sometimes forget to make those little changes.
How to Tie the Mother’s Day Caddis
Tie up a few of your own! There’s no better way to learn than from the man himself. Check out this fly tying video, as Greg gives us a step-by-step look at how to tie the Mother’s Day Caddis:
Materials List:
- Hook: Tiemco 100 SP-BL OR Tiemco 100 (14-18)
- Bead: Killer Caddis Glass Bead (Midge | Kelly Green)
- Thread 1: Ultra Thread 70 Denier (Fl. Green)
- Thread 2: Ultra Thread 70 Denier (Black)
- Body: Wapsi Superfine Dry Fly Dubbing (Black)
- Underwing: Accent Flash (Red AND Pearl) & Mirage Flash
- Wing: Yearling Elk (Bleached)
- Hackle: Rooster Cape Hackle (Natural Brown)
Contact Us With Questions
We’d like to thank Greg for taking the time to chat with us. Check out the Mother’s Day Caddis and Greg’s other great patterns. If you have questions or if you need help finding success out there on the water, please let us know. You can visit us at one of our fly shop locations in Littleton or Denver. Or give us a call at 303-794-1104.