Flies and the insects that they imitate.
To continue our discussion of mayfly nymphing tactics, we need to understand a little about entomology. The Hendrickson nymphs are not excellent swimmers or clingers so they are in the crawling or "catch all" category of mayflies. They are important because the trout can eat them more easily than the clinger type of mayflies like the Quill Gordons and the March Browns.
Mayflies are perhaps the most imitated insects within a trout fisherman’s fly box. Both the adult and nymph stages are an important food source in most any trout river across the country. Yet one of the most common mistakes I see my clients make is misidentifying the most common mayflies, or simply misunderstanding the lifecycles. Lets breakdown this simply, as this hopefully helps our overall recognition and understanding of these essential bugs.
Reviewing the Basics – Flies
When the waters are high and off color as they are now in the Southeast as well as other parts of the country, it is time to go to the trusty old streamers. Many anglers are reluctant to use streamers because they lack the visual appeal of dry flies, and they lack the delicate touch of a nymph. But streamers are effective for a variety of reasons.
1. Get a good hatch chart. You will need a hatch chart specific to the stream/area you want to fish. Most hatch charts are not specific enough to the local area, nor are they made from the proper stream samplings of the insects in the stream. They are generic and thoughtlessly created. Don’t use them. Currently, we only know of one place to find good hatch charts.
I slow down my trout fishing in the month of August and I believe that the trout are slower as well. The water is low making the trout more cautious as they must elude predators. Also, the temperature of the water is high, and warmer water contains much less oxygen. Therefore the trout will be less active through the hot dog days of summer.
Does color matter when we select trout fishing lures or flies? How often does fly tyers and fly fishermen ask that question and speculate about it? This is a difficult question to address, but let's take a quick look.
To be correct, it is the Chamois Whammy! No matter how you spell it, it is still the same effective nymph or streamer. A good friend of mine, Joe Summers recently retired from Central Piedmont Community College where I worked with him. Joe once told me about a chamois worm that he makes and uses effectively on the Mitchell River in NC.
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