Caddis on the Stilly

The famed "Mother's Day Caddis" hatch has begun on the Stillwater. Look for March browns around 1pm with caddis taking over the show later in the afternoon. Soft hackles on the swing are producing, as are size 16 black elk hair caddis and size 12 brown parachutes fished over the March browns. I floated Johnson's to Whitebird yesterday. Tough fishing in the morning, caught a few on nymphs. A couple of fish came up for a small stimulator. The March browns started coming off, but the fish didn't really get on them until later. Around 3pm, the caddis started in earnest. Not yet a true "blizzard" hatch, but close. Fish got on 'em just in time for a big hail/rain storm to blow in. Howling wind started sheeting the water, but you could still see splashy rises through the whitecaps and pounding rain drops. When the rain and hail let up, the fishing got good again on the dry fly until about 5:30. Took a couple of nice brown trout on a green wooly bugger on the way out.