BLACK FLY (SIMULIIDAE) PUPA/EMERGER
by Tom Knoth

You will find very little information about the simuliidae in relation to flyfishing, but stomach samples that I have taken from Lower Stanislaus trout prove that simuliidae can at times be the majority of their diet.  I have also found that Moccasin Creek trout can at times have stomach samples dominated by simuliidae.  In both the pupa and adult stages, simuliidae resemble a miniature housefly. The pupa utilizes an air bubble (which is highly visible to trout) to ascend to the surface and they are particularily vulnerable at this stage, as well as briefly on the surface. Although I prefer to fish larger flies, a black fly imitation can save the day when the larger flies are not working, and it is almost always effective when the fish are surface feeding.

To fish this fly as an emerger in the surface film, I typically use a larger dry fly as an indicator; I attach a yard of 6x or 7x tippet to the hook bend, and than tie on the simuliidae which is left untreated (no floatant).  This fly can also be fished subsurface using a deaddrift presentation; I use it for a top fly in a tandem fly rig.  A powder type floatant can be used to create air bubbles like the natural pupa utilizes to ascend to the surface.

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