The Rock Worm Mystery
Around the Grey Reef section of the North Platte River many folks refer to a red aquatic worm fly pattern as a Rock Worm. Little do they know that the Rock Worm was developed AND patented by Frans Potts around 1920. Mr. Potts was also responsible for inventing and patenting the Maggot...another caddis pattern. The insect he imitated with the Rock Worm is a free living caddis named Rhyacophila. Rhyacophila inhabit the North Platte River.
Gary LaFontaine interpreted Frans Potts pattern as the Green Rock Worm in the photograph to the right. This has been a deadly pattern for almost 90 years! Fly fishing history was written by the US Patent Office in 1920. Most folks in the fly fishing community know that a Rock Worm is, in fact, a caddis...and not an annelid.The fly pattern that is regionally called the Rock Worm is simply red D-rib, larva lace, or flex floss wrapped around a long nymph hook size 12 to 14. This pattern clearly imitates an annelid or aquatic earthworm. We call this pattern the The Reef Worm for obvious reasons.
Erik Aune
