Green Drake patterns

[drakeking412]

I've decided to take the plunge this year and fish the green drakes at Penn's. I don't have a single pattern in my box to fish them however... What are some of your favorite patterns for this hatch? I've heard the best fly during the drake hatch is a sulphur is there any merit to that? Any help greatly appreciated thank you!

 

[purplewoolly]

I’ve never fished Penns for the Green Drake hatch but on all other streams I’ve encountered them, yes, sulphers definitely out fish a drake. My most successful GDrake Pattern is a compara dun. Use a heavy tippet to help against twisting.

 

[JeffK]

The sulphur advise is good. Most of my best luck has been with coffin flies after dark. I'm not sure if pattern means that much in the dark and I have had days when a #6 white Wulff worked, my current go to is :
Tail: deer hair, short hook gap length (long tails lower hook up rates for me)
Abdomen: Cream dubbing
Thorax: black dubbing
Wings: Cream or clear Hi-Vis semi-spent
Hackle: white furnace, clipped on bottom

I like a hackle and semi-spent wings so I can see the fly in the dark. Flat wings and no hackle don't show up in the dark for me.

Rarely had luck with duns anywhere, except Fishing Ck. There a Catskill style pattern in very pale olive to pale yellow worked. The duns where hatching like a wobbly colt getting up and dropping back again. Full hackled pattern seemed to work well for that. But generally when the duns are around sulphurs or brown drakes seem to fill the bill.

 

[Dave_W]

purplewoolly wrote:
Use a heavy tippet to help against twisting.

This is good advice. ^

 

[drakeking412]

ty all. I'm tying up mostly sulphurs with a few larger drake patterns. I spent so much damn time on my nymphing box this year im tying dries the day before the trip...

 

[Dave_W]

Work up some large nymphs in the range of about an inch long with whatever tying methods you prefer.

Keep 'em slender and with movement - maybe an extended body style or a marabou tail, whatever gives it wiggle. Tie 'em with soft materials and in the medium brown to gray color tones.

 

[BradFromPotter]

Try swinging a big(size 6 or 8) traditional light cahill wet fly.

 

[Steeltrap]

I had a chance to fish the Rolling Rock stream the other day. Last time I had that chance was 20 years ago. Lots of hits in the am on scuds then in the afternoon a Stimulator worked well. The rainbows crushed 'em when they decided it was worthy.

Later afternoon a small hatch of LARGE green drake's were coming out. Their green color was light and like a chartreuse color. Fortunately....I had some drakes in that very color and also some Sparkle Duns in the chartreuse. The fish didn't care what I called the pattern!!

 

[shakey]

i fished penns this weekend.

the first night they were size 6 or larger.

last night,upstream of coarse ,they were 8-10.

 

[1hook]

I was on penns the other afternoon and drakes were hatching. It’s crazy to me how big those flies were. I had some catskill style dries tied on a 3xl number 10 dry fly hook that I tied for the drakes. They took fish but I felt were still small compared to the size of the drakes. I’d guess a 6-8.

I had some big comparaduns that took fish. I’d go back and forth between style of flies and could usually get a rise on one of them to a working fish. Caught some real nice healthy trout.

 

[timmyt2]

What is the Rolling Rock stream?

 

[Prospector]

You can make these Coffin Flies as simple as you want. Very easy fly and very effective. Most people tie coffin flies too large. Dry flies always work better a size smaller than a size bigger for a few reasons. Harder for trout to pick out a phony, smaller flies will fit into mouths better producing more hookups and less chance of twisted leaders.

The fly our group has been using for many years uses a short shank #12, a 3/32 white foam cylinder body and grizzly hackle. I tie many with a white crinkled zelon upright wing to improve visibility at dark. Cut your foam to keep your overall fly length at 3/4". A little smaller than the natural.

Apparently other people had been doing the same thing. I happened to be in the Kettle Creek Tackle Shop when the anticipated shipment arrived in June 2019. They broke the box open and showed me the flies they were waiting on. Picture below.

I've included a number of other pictures below for reference.

- Note the hook in the picture title My pattern with measurements is not tied on a size 10 hook. The hook is merely there for reference. The sz 10 hook used in the first 2 pictures shows the Penns natural is the same length as the imitation.
- The size 12 hook is shown in the 3rd picture only to demonstrate (in my opinion) that is probably the largest hook size you ever want to use for a coffin fly. Short shank #12 are much better.
- Can you tie larger flies...yes. Will you catch fish on a larger fly...yes. Do larger flies match up with the size of most naturals...no. Will you catch more fish on smaller flies..yes.