Overview

John Barr, the tyer behind the Copper John, designed the Graphic Caddis after noticing that real caddis emergers looked much smaller than the patterns in his box. He felt most caddis pupa flies were too big, too bulky and too puffed up, so he built a slimmer, more realistic one. Barr is an Umpqua signature tyer, and Umpqua ties this fly.

The body is micro tubing over Holographic Flashabou, which gives the fly segmentation and the trapped-air sparkle of a pupa rising to the surface. It is tied on a TMC 2488H hook, a wide-gap curved hook with the holding power needed for large trout. It has proven itself on the Bighorn, Missouri and Madison rivers and across Colorado.

How to Fish It

• Deep with a Copper John: fish it as the dropper behind a heavier nymph like a Copper John on an indicator or tight-line rig.
• Soft-hackle style: fish it just under the surface on a tight line, letting it swing across the current.
• During the hatch: when caddis pupae are emerging, cast upstream of working trout and swing the fly through their feeding window.
• Dry-dropper: trail it below an Elk Hair Caddis in the evening hatch.

Choosing Color and Size

Olive matches green-bodied caddis like the Rhyacophila and many summer hatches, and Tan covers the tan and brown caddis common on Western rivers.

Size 16 is the everyday size for most caddis. Use size 14 for larger caddis or when fishing it deep in faster water.