Since the name of the game is fooling trout into thinking your fly is a natural bug they would eat, it pays to think like a bug.
Take your time and be observant to the bug life that surrounds the river.
Does your caddis look similar to the ones flying or crawling on the shore vegetation?
Watch for adult mayflies, caddis, or stoneflies in the air. Mayflies fly gracefully almost floating while caddis flip and flop and bounce around. Stoneflies, especially large skwalas or salmonflies, are hard to miss and are generally pretty terrible at flying due to their size.
This stonefly nymph is a good sized meal for a trout.
Pick up rocks and see what nymphs are cruising in the stream. And then consider how they might look while floating in the current.
Consider the time of day because if it is near dawn or dusk, you might see more caddis.
Mayflies either emerging or possible ending their lifecycle as spinners.
Are the bugs emerging from nymph stage to adult, or are they ending their lifecycle by coming to the surface to lay their eggs and become what anglers call spinners?
It will pay off to learn a bit more about the bug life on your local river, so be sure to think like a bug each time you go out to notice what’s happening and respond accordingly.