Favorite Hatch

[ozark trout fisher]

I haven't seen this topic on OAF yet, and I thought it might be a good one. What's your favorite hatch?

Mine is the long, drawn out mixed hatches of Blue-Winged Olives and Tan Caddis that the upper Current River sees each fall and spring. I'll start out in the early morning swinging soft-hackles or fishing little nymphs, and switch over to the dries when the bugs start to pop late morning, an Elk Hair Caddis if that's what the fish are rising to, or a tiny Adams if it's mostly the Olives. On a good day, the hatch will last until evening, never ridiculously heavy, but heavy enough to get the fish looking up. This tends to happen best on chilly, cloudy days, preferably with a bit of mist or light rain. That also happens to be the days that most fisherman aren't out on the river-a happy coincidence. I'll be down there in a couple weeks to see if I can hit it.

I'm interested to see some other opinions.

[Danoinark]

I love the smell of a caddis hatch in the morning....

I also love HOPPERS...ain't nothing better than a bunch of hoppers hitting water in early fall.

Dano

[Al Agnew]

The first one that comes to mind has to be the Mother's Day caddis hatch on the Yellowstone. It's a tough hatch to hit right. It occurs right around the first of May, and it takes water temps of close to 50 degrees for it to come off. But the problem is that if the weather has been warm enough to get the river temps around Livingston MT to that level, the snowmelt has probably already started up in Yellowstone Park and the river is rising fast. But if you hit it right, you'll never see another hatch like it. Caddis so thick on the water that they are floating downriver in mats. So thick that if the wind is blowing, whichever side of you is facing the wind is coated with caddis flies. So thick that as the caddis lay their lime green, sticky egg cases, every part of your waders that is underwater is covered with lime green.

The best time to be there is when it first gets going good. First a few caddis, then more, then a lot. By that time the trout will be rising steadily to them. It's probably the first big hatch of the spring, and the fish are hungry after a hard Montana winter. All you have to do is tie on a caddis imitation that's about one size bigger than the actual flies, and the fish will pick your fly out of the thousands of caddis floating by. If the weather changes suddenly and the hatch temporarily stops, the fish are still frantically hungry, and the big browns will hit big streamers like crazy. And then the hatch starts again and it's back to dries. As it nears maximum, the caddis will start clumping together--we call them "caddis cookies" and the trout will be picking off your fly as it floats along with the cookies. Then at maximum, the clumps become "caddis pizzas" and by this time the trout are sated with caddis, and the fishing drops off, although once in a while you'll see a big brown take a bite out of one of the pizzas. But most years, by that time (the hatch can last a week) the river is getting brown and blown.

The salmon fly hatch on the Madison is justly famous, and many anglers believe it's the best, most exciting hatch of all, with huge bugs on the water and huge trout binging on them, but it often seems there are more anglers than trout when the salmon fly hatch comes off. I love it more because it doesn't happen everywhere at once, and to get perfect solitude and consistent angling, just go to a part of the Madison where the hatch hasn't started yet!

[Flyflinger]

Lake Chopaka WA...early June mayfly hatch.

Sleep in...the hatch starts at 9am on the button.

[stlfisher]

Gotta be the "hopper hatch" or Caddis for me. I will fish that Salmon Fly hatch soon....as I am researching a possible move.

[Gavin]

Cant say I have a favorite...its just a priveledge to see fish rising and have an opportunaty to match the hatch.

[FishinCricket]

Cant say I have a favorite...its just a priveledge to see fish rising and have an opportunaty to match the hatch.

You forgot to say "CHEERS"!!!!

Do I win a prize?

My favorite hatch is the aluminum hatch..

[troutfiend1985]

That samonfly hatch is harder to catch that it seems. Just went to Yellowstone this summer and spent a few days chasing it. Saw a few adults and alot of shells from where they crawled out of, but never did really get it. I hope you have better luck than I did stl, but I will be back up there in a couple years chasing them again.

My favorite hatch of Missouri? Probably the Caddis hatch. I love to fish hoppers, but give me a caddis hatch any day and I am a happy guy. Or, the canoe hatch. I'm pretty happy with that as well

[FishinCricket]

Or, the canoe hatch. I'm pretty happy with that as well

It does tend to bring on the bikini hatch...

[Gavin]

No prize, but here you go...Cheers.

Its always fun to watch the bikini's come off! Cheers.