LaFontaine Sparkle Pupa Question

[Tom Butler]

Over time I've come to realize the caddis is an important insect around here. Duh, right. Underwater I've got a hare's ear I like, a couple softhackles, and that version of LaFontaine's Diving Caddis has been good. I have some sparkle pupa that I got in a shipment from Big Y years ago, and the fish really just seem to ignore them. I've lost all the rust colored ones and most of the cream. The other colors don't anything. I've tried tying a few but before I go much further I'd kind of like to know if others have good success with the Sparkle Pupa and Emerger. Maybe I'm not fishing them right? But really, I think they should be getting bit some more than they do. Maybe time to fork out some money for the caddisfly book.

 

[jaredoconnor]

I used those flies a lot and had very limited success with them. I think they are a gimmick. My most successful caddis pattern, by far, is a micro mop.

With October around the corner, I strongly recommend tying up some of the larger ones.

 

[Steve Vaughn]

I used those flies a lot and had very limited success with them. I think they are a gimmick. My most successful caddis pattern, by far, is a micro mop.

View attachment 81908

What sizes are we looking at here?

 

[jaredoconnor]

What sizes are we looking at here?

The hook sizes are #10, #14 and #18. I think of the #10 as a #6 fly, the #14 as a #10 and the #18 as a #14.

The #18 is my go-to summer fly, when #14 caddis are around. The #10 is great during October. The #14 has a less obvious purpose, but seems to work well regardless.

 

[Zak]

Over time I've come to realize the caddis is an important insect around here. Duh, right. Underwater I've got a hare's ear I like, a couple softhackles, and that version of LaFontaine's Diving Caddis has been good. I have some sparkle pupa that I got in a shipment from Big Y years ago, and the fish really just seem to ignore them. I've lost all the rust colored ones and most of the cream. The other colors don't anything. I've tried tying a few but before I go much further I'd kind of like to know if others have good success with the Sparkle Pupa and Emerger. Maybe I'm not fishing them right? But really, I think they should be getting bit some more than they do. Maybe time to fork out some money for the caddisfly book.
View attachment 81906

I tied and fished the deep and emerger sparkle pupa with just meh results. The diving caddis is a great fly, I agree.

 

[Hoofer]

I like the sparkle pupa a bunch — but I think a lot of commercial versions are too heavily dressed, personally. I don't have the lafontaine book, either, but periodically think I should get it. Maybe sort of a mad genius.

I dig those mop flies, although haven’t fished any yet.

Iris caddis seems closely related to sparkle pupa —and is an easier tie for me, especially in smaller sizes. (Lots of caddis are smaller than we think.) Good video of Craig Mathews tying the iris; looks like he’s done it a few times…

 

[Matt B]

Sparkle pupae have never done Jack for me, but I’ve only tried the heavily dressed commercial versions. I think they are overdressed, too, but never bothered to try tying and fishing a sparser one.

 

[Zak]

I used those flies a lot and had very limited success with them. I think they are a gimmick. My most successful caddis pattern, by far, is a micro mop.

With October around the corner, I strongly recommend tying up some of the larger ones.

View attachment 81908

Where do you get the smallest mop chenille? Or are you teasing apart the strands and using one strand?

 

[Tom Butler]

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to try a couple of each in sz. 14 in a more familiar hare's ear dress. I think I got to much "bubble" material, hard being sparse.

 

[jaredoconnor]

Where do you get the smallest mop chenille? Or are you teasing apart the strands and using one strand?

See below. There’s a few different sizes available.

Soldarini Micro Mop Chenille

This is a dense mop style chenille but in a micro size that makes it perfect for more realistic caddis imitations, small attractor style mops, and squirmy worms. For worms, that dense material adds a touch of stiffness to the chenille, making it less likely to foul than some of the other worm...

tacticalflyfisher.com

 

[Hoofer]

I just tried to eat the leggy one with the legs.

 

[jaredoconnor]

I just actually looked at your fly box photo, @Tom Butler. That shit definitely ain’t going to work. I don’t know why they make the bubble and the shuck so ridiculous, on commercial flies. They might work as an egg pattern though.

 

[Tom Butler]

I just actually looked at your fly box photo, @Tom Butler. That shit definitely ain’t going to work. I don’t know why they make the bubble and the shuck so ridiculous, on commercial flies.

View attachment 81930

I just figured that was what they were supposed to look like, and I see most videos use a lot less material. I'm gonna cut the pupa schuck's down on the ones I did. Always new stuff to figure out, love this sport!

 

[Hoofer]

Sparkle and Iris. I don’t run deer hair on them very much. Usually fish them damp as a dropper.

 

[tkww]

Over time I've come to realize the caddis is an important insect around here. Duh, right. Underwater I've got a hare's ear I like, a couple softhackles, and that version of LaFontaine's Diving Caddis has been good. I have some sparkle pupa that I got in a shipment from Big Y years ago, and the fish really just seem to ignore them. I've lost all the rust colored ones and most of the cream. The other colors don't anything. I've tried tying a few but before I go much further I'd kind of like to know if others have good success with the Sparkle Pupa and Emerger. Maybe I'm not fishing them right? But really, I think they should be getting bit some more than they do. Maybe time to fork out some money for the caddisfly book.

They work when they work. Lol. I think the key thing is that they're imitating a very specific hatch phase. So when that phase is happening, great. But if it isn't, then it's not impressionistic enough to really trigger a response. (For example you don't hear a lot of people suggest a spinner pattern as a searching pattern.)

For what it's worth, Rick Hafele said in a presentation that his underneath caddis work is all in greens, and doesn't really bother with the other colors.

But overall I would say my experience matches others here. For me they don't work often enough/well enough to justify the amount of bin space / catalog pages / pattern variations that exist. I also can't say I've ever seen a legit caddis hatch in the middle of the day--actually seen a caddis emerge from the water. Dusk to too-dark-to-fish is another story. But then I'm fishing dries anyway.

 

[tkww]

(Lots of caddis are smaller than we think.)

This is a great point. Early season can have some size, but there's sooooooo many mid-summer hatches of them that are #16-18 bugs.

 

[jaredoconnor]

I just figured that was what they were supposed to look like, and I see most videos use a lot less material. I'm gonna cut the pupa schuck's down on the ones I did. Always new stuff to figure out, love this sport!

I made the exact same mistake, about 10 years ago, when I bought some from a cheap online fly shop. I burned a lot of time on the water, with those stupid flies. That’s how I know they definitely don’t work.

I, too, cut the shucks and the bubbles. My memory is foggy, but I think that must have worked; I ended up tying some myself, the right way. However, my ultimate conclusion was that they don’t work any better than basic patterns, such as a Walt’s worm.

 

[Tom Butler]

They work when they work. Lol. I think the key thing is that they're imitating a very specific hatch phase. So when that phase is happening, great. But if it isn't, then it's not impressionistic enough to really trigger a response. (For example you don't hear a lot of people suggest a spinner pattern as a searching pattern.)

For what it's worth, Rick Hafele said in a presentation that his underneath caddis work is all in greens, and doesn't really bother with the other colors.

But overall I would say my experience matches others here. For me they don't work often enough/well enough to justify the amount of bin space / catalog pages / pattern variations that exist. I also can't say I've ever seen a legit caddis hatch in the middle of the day--actually seen a caddis emerge from the water. Dusk to too-dark-to-fish is another story. But then I'm fishing dries anyway.

For a while I used to tie and fish all the latest hot flies from the mags, and never did well. When I started fishing impressionistic wet flies I started catching more.
I noticed greens in my stream sampling this year, and I'm trying to use that color more often each time out. Still preferring the browns, tans, greys.
Yes! I too hardly ever see a hatch, just evidence it happened and I try to rely on some memory in the fish. I don't get to evening fish often.
Thanks, this helps reinforce what I was thinking.

I made the exact same mistake, about 10 years ago, when I bought some from a cheap online fly shop. I burned a lot of time on the water, with those stupid flies. That’s how I know they definitely don’t work.

I, too, cut the shucks and the bubbles. My memory is foggy, but I think that must have worked; I ended up tying some myself, the right way. However, my ultimate conclusion was that they don’t work any better than basic patterns, such as a Walt’s worm.

Part of learning curve I guess, we got to see what works on our waters when we get to fish. But it can be frustrating.
Which gets us to that impressionistic everyday fly, the worm or hare's ear, that just works.

 

[Shad]

They work when they work. Lol. I think the key thing is that they're imitating a very specific hatch phase. So when that phase is happening, great. But if it isn't, then it's not impressionistic enough to really trigger a response. (For example you don't hear a lot of people suggest a spinner pattern as a searching pattern.)

For what it's worth, Rick Hafele said in a presentation that his underneath caddis work is all in greens, and doesn't really bother with the other colors.

I think this nails it. The Deep Sparkle Pupa imitates a very specific phase of the caddis life cycle; one that doesn't occur throughout the day. During periods where caddis are emerging regularly (at least once daily), they seem to be more effective in general, but in times when the naturals aren't actively emerging (or are mostly flying around as adults), they don't look like anything else the fish are seeing. Doesn't mean a good presentation won't get bit from time to time, but perhaps a nymph or dry caddis pattern is more effective for general, all day fishing.

I left the Rick Hafele reference in my quote as well, partly because I like green, too, but also to point out that we all have personal favorite patterns/colors/etc., and the longer we fish, the more confidence we develop in the patterns that catch us the most fish, and faster we tend to lose confidence in new patterns that don't work for us as well or right away. It's interesting (and evidence that fish aren't as discerning as we credit them with being) that we all have a couple favorites that others find ineffective....

 

[tkww]

For a while I used to tie and fish all the latest hot flies from the mags, and never did well. When I started fishing impressionistic wet flies I started catching more.

For a while I subscribed to Fly Tyer magazine. I don't remember the name, but there was a contributor who was regularly featured and always having these new patterns. I was excited and tried a bunch of them. Absolute failures. Over and over and over. I came to the conclusion that the guy was simply coming up with new stuff to make money writing but there was no correlation to actually catching fish. Sort of like making up a food recipe but never actually tasting it.

I noticed greens in my stream sampling this year, and I'm trying to use that color more often each time out. Still preferring the browns, tans, greys.

Yes! I too hardly ever see a hatch, just evidence it happened and I try to rely on some memory in the fish.

I remember doing some casual sampling in a stream I know you fish. The overwhelming conclusion was black--or so dark brown as to essentially appear black. Granted I was seeing mostly stones and mays, but looking down at the net, all the squirming things were some shade of very dark. That might explain my preference for a PT or Prince over the standard color HE. But obviously you do quite well on the HE coloration!