slate drake

redrockgrizzly

redrockgrizzly

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Dec 1, 2006
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quick question about slate drakes

i know the regular slate drake are about around a size 12 - 14 depending on stream

i remember reading somewhere that there is bigger slate drake that hatches on Pa streams (penns) size 8 - 10. i cant seem to find any info.

i looked on troutnut and the only info about big slate drakes are from the upper midwest. (Hexagenia atrocaudata --Late Hex) but nothing in the northeast.

am i thinking of a different fly or different name. not sure.

im just throwing this out there because i found a box of flies that i tied sometime ago and is labeled big slate drakes. im not sure why i tied them. lol
 
http://www.troutnut.com/hatch/646/Mayfly-Isonychia-Slate-Drakes

Our slate drakes are isonychia.
 
yeah, i know our slate drakes are isonychia. but for some reason, i thought there was a larger version commonly called a "big slate drake" im not sure where i heard that from.
 
Take alookat Paul Weamer & Meeks book Pocket guide to hatches in PA.
 
I saw them once on Lycoming that were huge, size 8 or 10. Like planes flying over head.
 
MKern, im glad you have seen them.

i just seem to find any info on them, i know i read, seen, or heard of them on pa streams, but i looked through my books and couldnt find any.
 
I think some streams have a slightly larger size than others do. If you saw the big ones, that was early in the hatch, right? If I'm not mistaken, they have multiple broods over the summer and seem to get smaller as the summer goes. Yes, no, maybe?
 
redrockgrizzly wrote:
quick question about slate drakes

i know the regular slate drake are about around a size 12 - 14 depending on stream

i remember reading somewhere that there is bigger slate drake that hatches on Pa streams (penns) size 8 - 10. i cant seem to find any info.

i looked on troutnut and the only info about big slate drakes are from the upper midwest. (Hexagenia atrocaudata --Late Hex) but nothing in the northeast.
Click to expand...

The size 8 mayfly there are referring to is almost certainly a Hexagenia. Isonychia don't get that big. And Penns Creek has Hexs (along with a lot of other bugs.) I've seen them there, but never saw big numbers of them.

There are somewhere around 300 species of mayflies in PA. So, most hatch charts don't try to include every bug in the stream. That would be more of a hindrance than a help. They try to include the most major hatches, and omit the bugs that are less abundant.
 
The Slate drakes (Isonychia) I see are usually about a size 12+/- a hook size. Here are some pics and info:

http://www.jerryhadden.com/mayflies/bicolor.html


On Meck's hatch chart (the most complete I've seen on the Net) he lists the early Isonychia as size 12.

He lists the "Big Slate Drake" (near the bottom of the chart) as "Hexagenia atrocaudata" and in a size 8.

The later Slate Drakes (Isonychia) are listed as a size 14.

Meck's Chart:

http://www.charlesmeck.com/hatchchart.html


Both sightnymph and Troutbert are correct. SN said they (Iso's) get smaller as the year progresses, and Troutbert posted that the "Big Slate Drakes" are actually Hexes.

There ya go!
 
Calling the Hex, A. a Slate Drake is wrong, it's not even slate colored. They are either dark brown or brown on the back and yellowish underneath. At least the ones I've seen. they hatch toward the end of July until late September, but are hard to catch in good numbers.
Many of the SE streams have them in silty sections. The upper fly section of the LL is a good section to look for them, they are also in the Perkiomen drainage, but watch the temps there. it gets warm in July and August.
 
slate drakes are size 13mm-16mm so that makes them a hook size surface #8 , #10 , the naturals generally crawl out of the water to emerge but sometimes emerge in the water , most hatching occurs when water temps are below 70 degrees , thats why morning and dark are best times to catch them hatching .
 
trouslammer it depends on where you are fishing, you are not for instance going to find large Slate Drakes in some of the small mountain freestone streams I fish. You will however find the big ones in Penns and Fishing Creek in Lamar.
Even in the Delaware River the ones I've seen tend to be small.
BTW if you are tying a slate drake at 13 mm that's barely over a half inch long. Won't work if the ones you are seeing are really # 8's and # 10's.
 
a fly that is 13-16 mm what size hook do you use chaz ? keep in mind that a green drake body size is 18-30mm , we are talking a size 8 & 10 standard hook ! i would think a green drake might be best tied on a size 8 4x long or size 6 4x long and these are not for tieing extended bodys , tails right offf hook bend , i guess the smaller the water the smaller the fly , i will have to remeber that but every stream i have ever went to the size of the bugs in pa are very very close in size and color , tiemco tmc 100 size 12 down eye standard fine wire measure 1 half inch from hook eye to the very outside bend of the hook (too small for 13mm , now go to 16 mm ) i am sticking by my theory size 8-10
 
TS, that would be in the range of a # 14 or # 12 I think for 13mm to 16mm. An inch is 2.54 cm or 254 mm. But the hitch is that the shank lengths of hooks are NOT standard. So I'd say you have to use a # 8 1 or 2 long for a Penns Creek GD. Same on Pine Creek, though they are a little smaller than the GD's on Penns. GD's are a good 1 inch long fly. The only way to know for sure is to measure the fly and he hooks you use.
SF
 
Iso's are fishable today! I chickened out when the forecast this morning was calling for 1 to 2 inches of rain. priobably gonna be grat till the levels come up.
 
stonefly , 13mm which is the lower end of the size of a slate drake is .51 something inches , a tiemco size 12 hook does not have a 1/2 " shank to tie on , we are talking body size not tail to head here , on my standard size 14 orvis dry fly hooks u have about 5/16 of an inch to make a body with on the hook shank , not enough for the body of a 13mm fly , i would also add i think that a 10mm fly (body of the natural ) is either a 12 or a 14 (the early sulfurs ) green drakes measure 18-30 mm mostly , tied on a 2x long # 8 would be right , 13-16 mm which is half the size would be best tied on a #8-10 standard
 
TS I think that is what Stone_Fly said, even a # 8 is not long enough for some of the Slate Drakes we see on the big streams. But on the small stream where they hatch a #14 or # 12 covers the sizes you'll see. I tie my flies on long shank dry fly hooks, they more accurately represent the length of the fly bodies without having a huge gape.
 
what big streams are u seeing them on that a size 8 won't cover , u look on the net at info on the slate drake is 13-16mm , .51inches , i never noticed bug size to be in direct relationship with stream size , i am not sure i am buying that , i fish ditches here that the first sulfurs (rotunda , invaria ) are the same size as the sulfurs that hatch in creeks 4 times their size. the green drakes in books i have say penns creek green drakes are best tied on a size 12 3x long , the same size hook it calls for them to be tied on in cladwell creek which is 125 miles + from penns and is less than 1/2 the size of penns , i guess we all believe in what works and have our own opinions . this is just my .02 $ not that it matters
 
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