Identifying “The Hatch” Fish are Eating

This past week Brian and I have been lucky enough to enjoy being treated to multiple hatches through the course of an evening of fishing. As you can see in our stream report, most of the local streams have an abundance of aquatic insects hatching throughout the day/evening. Take for instance on Spring Creek the evening started out with me fishing a size 16 Tan Caddis pattern because the trout were feeding methodically around fallen trees, eddies, and other seams in the main channel.

Then I noticed other fish that were working were not attacking the caddis flies that were traveling downstream. At this moment after watching numerous caddis go untouched through the “feeding zones,” I looked down at the water in front of me. I think that anglers tend to keep their eye on the trout that they are casting towards and sometimes lose sight of what is going on in their immediate surroundings. It happens all too often. A fisherman gets so in tuned to the bug they've caught a few fish on that they miss a blue-winged olive or a black caddis hatch.

How do you miss it? The larger sulphur or caddis fly hatches are much more evident than crane flies or spinner falls that we miss an opportunity to continue quality dry fly fishing into the later hours of the evening. To stay in touch with the variety of bugs that will frequent the streams is to be observant! Look for subtle changes in rise forms, did the fish sip a dry fly, chase an emerging insect, or did they aggressively attack a nymph from underneath and splash the waters surface? These are all things to think about and offer a lot of information about what the trout are doing from the bottom all the way to going airborne for a fluttering caddis.

Another theory held by the generalist is that it's simply all about a crisp drag free presentation with an attractor pattern that will raise the interest of a feeding trout. Whatever your basic beliefs are as an angler it is important to be aware of your surroundings. Have an idea of the potential insects that you could see on the water (Have your fly boxes stocked!). Take calculated steps to approach each cast with the thought that each new cast may bring the fish of a lifetime.



Enjoy!