Hatches

[caddisflyer]

Caddis hatches on Tulpehocken have been declining in recent years. Sulfurs and Olives almost non existent. The hatches were what made that place fun. Tricos are just okay but not the clouds of the past. Fall used to be consistent (every day about 10a.m.) Olives on Spring Creek. I haven't been over there in a couple years so I cannot say. Even the springtime Stoneflies barely appeared on the creeks I fish. Without bugs flyfishing is kinda pointless.

 

[Drifly]

Hatch? What’s a hatch? Extremely limited sample size for me this year. Work kept me away during prime time. Fished Penns one day as the hendricksons were getting started and that seemed fine. June sulfurs on the West Branch were good for a couple hours each afternoon. Surprising lack of caddis on the West Branch and Main Stem last couple of years.

Lack of caddis?? I guess that’d depend on what day you were there. I couldn’t include the video it’s just too large but here’s a screenshot of 1 frame this went on for a week and half some days a bit better than other.

 

[kbobb]

Geez I thought it was just me - saw very few rising fish this season. Grannom was the best bug-wise but as usual pupa and soft hackle were my most productive flies.
BWO and sulfur were particularly disappointing. One mid-May evening on LJ I only saw 2 rising trout and was there til well after dark.
The GD were kinda meh but caught some nice risers on top.
Thankfully my nymphing rod came to the rescue and saved the day numerous times. Having burned a lot of expensive gas driving to the better streams I'd have been PO'ed if I only fished dry flies.

 

[Shawn_H]

Rough year for me with regards to hatches/dry fly fishing for sure. This fall very noticeably different to last fall when I had some great dry fly days. Springtime I just never managed to hit anything right and I tried.

 

[DaveKile]

To be more complete about the GD's on Penns this year, while below Weikert there was a very weak hatch, above that area the hatch was it's usual blizzard the last week of May. The blurriness looking at the trees is not a dirty lens, but a cloud of drakes. There was nothing like this on lower sections.

This was the second year in a row that it happened like this. Seemed a little odd to me.

 

[TrevorCalse23]

I got into some decent Sulphur and Caddis hatches on the lehigh in may, one day in particular I got caught out in a storm on my raft and after it was the best hatch of sulphurs i got into this year. My first experience for the drakes at penns was an incredible experience, although maybe not as bug heavy as compared to other years, but for what im used to I had never seen so many bugs, which makes me wonder what some of these hatches used to be like back in the day.

 

[JeffK]

Had decent hatches in the Poconos and caught the Hendricksons, sulphurs in the spring and hebes in the fall. Dropped Little Lehigh from rotation with poor trico hatches of late. Over in NJ I rarely see good hatches anymore.

I know it is controversial, but I'm thankful for Euronymphing to fill in many hatchless days.

 

[SBecker]

As someone that is on the Lehigh almost every day in the month of May and first two weeks of June, the hatches were consistent and normal. The only hatch I have noticed a steady decline in, was the Grannoms in April. Not sure if it is just because I am not out as frequently in April, but I have not caught a good Grannom hatch in a few years there.

 

[SBecker]

I got into some decent Sulphur and Caddis hatches on the lehigh in may, one day in particular I got caught out in a storm on my raft and after it was the best hatch of sulphurs i got into this year. My first experience for the drakes at penns was an incredible experience, although maybe not as bug heavy as compared to other years, but for what im used to I had never seen so many bugs, which makes me wonder what some of these hatches used to be like back in the day.

I caught that hatch after the storm, some of the best fishing I have ever encountered on the Lehigh.

 

[DomR]

My 2 favorite hatches to fish, the sulphurs and the Iso hatches late May to late June, were disappointing to say the least in both the Poconos and NJ. the working man's hatches usually treat me well. And I had more time to fish this year to boot. Big bummer, I saw heads but nothing consistent with both risers or amount of bugs. The wet fly fishing was ok but not tremendous as years past. The inconsistent spring weather and water levels seem to have thrown things off.

 

[PennKev]

Caddis hatches have been strong everywhere I fish for the last several (many?) years and I've noticed a lot more stoneflies in early spring on several NW regions streams. I'm not talking about the little microscopic black stones, but the larger black and brown ones that can be mistaken for caddis in flight by novice anglers.

All the other hatches have been about the same, which is to say they aren't worth getting too excited about beyond being prepared if you do encounter them.

I've been at this long enough to say that beyond caddis, sulphurs, and maybe BWO's, there are few other hatches worth discussing except in specific locations. March Browns, Slate drakes, and tricos would be the bulk of that later category.

Our habitat and water quality, across the board, is just not that great. Even in streams that hold good numbers of wild fish, the classic hatches are often sparse and unpredictable. The other consideration, IMO, is that too much emphasis is placed on fishing hatches that are the perfect storm of large numbers of bugs, ideal water condtions, and receptive fish. Most hatches are a trickle of bugs over several days with no promise of triggering a heavy feeding response.

Fish when water conditions are good. Have a solid selection of flies that can cover many different situations, and catch fish when they are willing to eat.

 

[TrevorCalse23]

I caught that hatch after the storm, some of the best fishing I have ever encountered on the Lehigh.

I thought the Saucon had pretty good hatches of them, but I havent seen anything like after that storm before there. The sulphurs are one of my favorites.