The Equinox Caddis is my go-to fly to fish when October Caddis are hatching.
I designed this fly to solve a couple of problems. To effectively imitate an October Caddis, your fly should ride low, but this is often at the expense of buoyancy. Furthermore, the cold weather that brings on the October Caddis hatch also usually means an end to hoppers being a prominent part of the menu, so while you can still fish a hopper-dropper rig and catch fish, I wanted to substitute a hopper pattern for an insect that is still present.
In essence, I sought to tie a fly that would have an accurate profile, skitter and skate without sinking, and have the ability to hold up a pretty substantial dropper. The Equinox Caddis solves these problems.
The foam body and diminished wing keep this pattern afloat — even with a heavy nymph along for the ride — while not sacrificing a low profile to more accurately imitate these insects.
The shaggy dubbing loop and ostrich-ribbed abdomen combined with the trimmed hackle on the thorax give the underside of this fly a super buggy appearance to any trout looking up, while also helping maintain enough surface tension to skate and twitch this fly just like the naturals do when they return to the water to lay their eggs.