As a longtime angler, I’ve had trouble finding rising trout during almost every mayfly hatch that occurs each year along rivers in the Catskills. All species, it seems, provide their own set of challenges for us to try and resolve in order to hook a trout or two. While each species of mayfly can cause its own set of problems for anglers, no aquatic insect that I am aware of creates as much controversy, discussion and frustration as our little sulphur dun, Ephemerella dorothea.
Every year, when my friends and I would meet for our annual spring get together at Frank Mele’s home, part of the day’s discussion inevitably involved a lot of talk about the little sulphur mayfly. In fact, my old friend Bill “Willie” Dorato had so much trouble rising trout when sulphurs were on the water, with his flies being ignored, that this little fly became an obsession. At the annual get-together, and throughout the season, especially when the sulphurs were hatching, Bill would speak with anyone who was interested in his nemesis. I have one of Bill’s fly boxes, and there are at least 10 different sulphur patterns nestled in the little compartments.
I first became aware of the sulphur hatches when the first water releases were implemented for the East Branch of the Delaware in 1977. At that time, the summer flow was increased from 15 cubic feet per second (CFS) to 76 CFS, which does not seem like a lot, but it provided about four times as much cold water for the river. The trout and mayflies responded dramatically. In those days, we would begin fishing around 6 p.m. The sulphurs would begin about 6:30 p.m. and continue well after dark. The hatches were huge, with thousands of duns on the water. And the trout did rise! There were so many flies that I would pick one rising trout and continue to cast to it until it rose or it became too dark to fish. In those days, I believed that one nice trout per evening was an ample reward for my effort. I still do.
So, what is it about the little sulphur that causes so much consternation among fly fishers? Before blaming fly patterns and fishing techniques, it is essential to look at the hatching behavior of the sulphur mayfly. Ephemerella mayflies, including sulphurs, hatch at the surface. That means the immature insects leave the bottom, rise through the water column and exit the nymphal stage right at or near the surface. Keeping that in mind, it is important to look at how trout react to the sulphur hatching process. Stream-born, wild trout become accustomed to feeding on underwater food organisms as soon as they leave the egg sac. As a result, wild trout take a significant amount of their food from below the surface. In fact, the literature indicates that trout take about 90 percent of their food from underwater sources.
The way wild trout feed on aquatic insects is where the trouble begins for fly fishers. With a good hatch of sulphur mayflies on the water, trout frequently ignore the duns, leaving us perplexed as to what fly and technique to use. It is even more perplexing when it appears that trout are taking duns off the surfaces because you see what appears to be rise to a dun, when in fact, it is a trout taking an emerging sulphur at or near the surface. It is easy for anglers to be fooled when trout are feeding in this manner, and the dry fly is seldom effective.
So, when they encounter a good hatch of sulphur mayflies, the first thing anglers need to do is to watch the duns to determine if trout are actually taking them. If so, are they taking duns steadily, or one every few minutes? If the trout are actively feeding on duns, they should be catchable with the dry fly, although it may not be easy. If trout are not taking duns, then it becomes an entirely different fishing situation, which means trying nymphs or emergers. Over the years, I’ve tried several different methods when trout are on sulphur nymphs or hatching duns and, so far, have not found a method that works. I’ve drifted small wet flies to where I saw a trout feeding with little or no success. I’ve tried drifting nymphs with about the same results.
One method that I have not explored, to any extent, is fishing a pheasant tail nymph in a size 18, two inches below a small strike indicator. Even though I don’t like using strike indicators, it’s one of the few techniques that I’m aware of that might work. Another method, where I’ve had limited success with when olive mayflies were hatching and trout were ignoring the duns, is fishing a pheasant tail nymph tied parachute style. That way, the fly floats right in the surface film and may work when sulphurs are hatching, provided the pheasant tail nymph is tied parachute with a ginger hackle. I’m going to tie some and see what happens.
Fly fishers need to keep in mind that when trout, particularly wild trout, are feeding on mayflies and caddisflies ascending the water column during the hatching process, coaxing strikes can be exceedingly difficult. In the meantime, anglers need to keep trying different methods with the hope that, someday, they will find a fishing technique that consistently works when the little sulphurs are hatching.
Me? I just ordered some very small yellow strike indicators.
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