Interesting in the summer months that one often gets a light breeze getting up mid-morning or afternoon, probably due to the temperature inversion as the day warms up, which produces caddis hatches for short periods, verified by the sporadic splashy rises by Trout, when you least expect it. The other tell-tale sign is when one is walking around the edge of the dam and you spot several moths fluttering in the grass. This observation resulted in the development of the ACE fly, aka, Alan's Caddis Emerger. Fish it using a floating line with a light tippet on a 12-15 foot leader. Either wait for it to sink, count down 60 seconds or fish it just below the surface, by using a double short fast strip, bang-bang. This imitates the emerging behaviour of the insect. Further experimentation in the Orange river has also produced great success fishing the ACE fly in the rapids in the evening, the fast flowing water pushing the fly just below the surface.
Ingredients:
Semperfli 18/0 Brick beige thread
Ahrex FW540 curved nymph hook #12-#18-
Wapsi Killer Caddis root beer beads
UTC Mirage medium Opal tinsel
Peacock herl
Ostrich herl, old gold or tan
Natural dun CDC
Below are photos demonstrating the materials and tying sequence.
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