The Day Drifter caddis: A More Lifelike Peeping Caddis Fly Featuring a Caddis Worm That’s Got Legs

Most rivers in the West have a Brachycentrus (occidentalis) hatch starting in later April that peaks in May called the Mother’s Day hatch. This hatch is increasingly important for daytime fly fishers in that Brachycentrus is now recognized as a cased caddis that drifts during the daylight hours and not just at sunrise & sunset. A Brachycentrus larva looks like a worm with six joined legs. The caddis worm color varies from chartreuse & pastel shades of green that lighten all the way to a cream color in some individuals. Brachycentrus uses the locally available sodden plant debris that are assembled into a stick-built chimney-like case. The debris is held together by a silk-like material the caddis itself excretes. The color of cases on the Upper Arkansas River where I fish are very dark brown to almost black. In the video, Brachycentrus cases from other rivers are seen as banded tan & brown stick-built chimney-like tubes. Not widely utilized is the fact that the worm is not fixe