Learn/Fly Box/Dry fly/Spent Caddis
SC
Dry fly

Spent Caddis

Dead-drift spent sedge
Trout · GraylingSurface

Flush-floating spent dressing for the post-egg-laying adult drifting dead in the film late in the evening — often the take when fish ignore the skated adult.

Fish this when

Late in the evening once the main caddis activity has slowed, when fish stop chasing skated adults and start sipping spent ones lying dead in the film.

Why it works

Lying flat and motionless matches an exhausted, dying adult exactly, giving fish an easy meal at the moment they've already learned to be wary of anything that moves.

Naturals it imitates
spent egg-laying adult sedge
Typical zone & fishable range
usually
Surface
Film
Subsurface
Deep
Setup sensitivity: medium
Hook range#14–16
Quick facts
Tying difficulty
Intermediate