Umpqua Mercer's Z-Wing Caddis Tungsten Fly

Overview

The Z-Wing Caddis Tungsten is a Mike Mercer pattern from Umpqua, where Mercer is a West Coast signature tyer. It imitates a caddis pupa and adds a tungsten bead so it sinks quickly to trout holding deep in runs and riffles.

Caddis pupae drift and swim up from the bottom before they hatch, and trout feed on them heavily in the hours before and during a caddis hatch. A heavier pupa lets you fish the bottom of that rise, in deeper and faster water where lighter flies never reach. Umpqua lists it for California, Colorado and Montana.

Euro Specs

• Bead: Tungsten.
• Role: Both; point fly in moderate water or dropper above a heavier anchor.

How to Fish It

• Nymph rig: fish it near the bottom before a caddis hatch, under an indicator or on a tight line.
• Rise at the end: let it lift and swing at the end of the drift like a pupa heading for the surface.
• Dry-dropper: hang it below a caddis dry or foam attractor in riffles.
• When: spring through fall, from the afternoon into the evening caddis hatch.

Choosing Color and Size

This listing is Olive in size 14, a match for the common green-bodied caddis that hatch on many trout rivers.