Cast after cast; nothing. I added weight, I took weight off. I lengthened my leader, I brought the fly closer to the indicator. I tried just about everything. Everything, except tying on a small cream-yellow caddis nymph.

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Probing some familiar water in the early spring, a hare’s ear nymph was a pretty safe choice. Fishing virtually any trout water a hare’s ear nymph is a pretty safe choice. Who knows what the fish think it is? It is buggy, visible, and purposefully generic. Usually I can use it to locate a few fish and potentially bring some to hand. Today, in a stretch I know well, I was coming up empty. It turns out I just thought I knew it well.

A few days later I took my family on a hike near the stream. The boys ran, climbed, and did little boy things all over the woods. After we got back to the car I threw on my waders and we walked down to the water. I didn’t have a rod or a fly on me. This was going to be fun, but it was also science class. We homeschool our boys. We believe in a comprehensive, well-rounded education. We also believe that they’ll get excited about the things we’re excited about. I like water and the stuff  that lives in it. Sure enough, they do too.

Today we were going to be conducting a stream survey. I’d rustle up some bugs, we’d check them out, and then take some fun specimens home to study. Decades ago I spent countless days on the water doing macroinvertibrate surveys for science classes. After that, it was an integral part of the teen conservation and fly fishing camp where I served as director. Even today, I rarely fish without picking up and studying a river rock or handful of sediment.

Even wild trout will eat mop flies, cigarette butts, and my attempts at dries. But there is a sweet spot where chance, presentation, and fly selection meet. That is the happy place in the Venn diagram where the most fish live. When the bugs aren’t fluttering about your face, you’ve got to get a little wet. A fine mesh net and a little dancing are in order. Shimmying your feet on the rocks and catching anything that comes loose in your net reveals a snapshot of a river life. It is, of course, a metric of stream health. It is also representative of a fish’s appetite.

Today we found a lot of bugs. There was quite a bit of diversity, which is a good sign for a little creek in the suburbs. But something else stood out: lots and lots of small cream-yellow caddis nymphs. Lots. Enough that it made sense that my tried-and-true hare’s eat was being refused on my last trip out. Chance and presentation might have been off, but my fly selection was just plain wrong.

We gathered six bugs in six little vials. A big caddis nymph in a case, a  tiny mayfly nymph, a water-penny,  a Nepomorpha (water bug), a freshwater shrimp, and the aforementioned cream-yellow caddis. The plan was for the 8- and 5-year-old to identify and draw each critter. The 3- and 1-year-old couldn’t stay away  from live insects on the kitchen counter, either. They’re learning a little bit about macroinvertibrates and their local ecology. They’re learning a little bit about what trout eat. They’re learning a lot about the wonders of creation.

After bedtime, I brought the vial with the cream-yellow caddis to my fly tying bench. I found some curved hooks and put one that was about the same length as the bug in my vise. I held up cream thread and yellow thread, alternately. I settled on cream thread with yellow UV resin on top. I tied up a handful of little cream-yellow caddis nymphs.

By just turning over a few rocks, everyone learned something today.

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I’ve used a lot of professional biology equipment over the years, and the River Oracle Streamside Match-the-Hatch Kit is an exceptional collection of instruments. You get a seine that fits over your net, six vials, a thermometer, a magnifier, and more. Even if you’ve never purposefully looked for a bug in your life, this kit from Ascent Fly Fishing is a great way to learn more about your river, and also to learn more about what fish are eating.