What was happening on the Bear River last night?

[DruLeeParsec]

I went out to the Bear after work last night and worked a pool where I caught a nice little spotted brown trout on Saturday. After trying the same nymph that caught the other fish and working the same area I couldn't get any response so I moved down stream to the ironically named "for sure" hole.

I call it the "For Sure" hole because I know fish will rise there and I've hooked several but never landed them. Last night I caught a rainbow on a white mayfly and had him almost in hand. I actually touched the trout when he shook off the hook.

Oh well, I was going to release him any way.

But then here's when it got weird.

The fish were rising a LOT. There were probably 3 or 4 of them rising in specific areas. I kept working that same white mayfly to them but they wouldn't take it. I couldn't see what they were actually eating becaue it was starting to get really dark. HOWEVER there were dozens of dragonflies all over the place. They would fly down and touch the water. Some times I'd hear a splash thinking it was a fish but it was a dragon fly splashing down.

It looked like there was some connection between whatever the dragon flies were doing (dropping eggs?) and the rising of the fish. Could this be true or is this a case of "correlation does not equal causation"?

If there was a connection then what fly would I use to mimic whatever the dragon flies were doing and whatever the trout were eating? Something was exciting the fish but I couldn't see what it was. It was too dark to see if mayflies were rising out of the water although I did see an occasional white mayfly on the water. But it wasn't a serious hatch.

As it got darker the dragon flies were replaced by the bats. There were a LOT of bats out and that makes me think that there were bugs hatching OR that they were also eating whatever the dragon flies were doing.

What the heck were the trout and bats eating and how would I mimic that?

[EdD]

Could it have been a midge hatch?

Ed

[Normand]

What the heck were the trout and bats eating and how would I mimic that?

capture what was hatching and imitate it

[FISHN50]

I agree with Ed . Probably a midge hatch. Although you could have been there just at the start of a hatch & the nymphs were active. Dragonflies & bats are both predators so they could have been picking up bugs as they were flitting around. Next time try an emerger or a unweighted nymph

[Mike Thomas]

Trout, at least here in NZ eat Dragonflies. So will bats so maybe...?

[DruLeeParsec]

I'm going to have to get a net to see what the heck they were eating.

The more I think of it the more it sounds like a hatch rather than the dragon flies laying eggs.

Dang, This makes me want to go back again tonight. But I have family responsibilities. Friday maybe? (Fishing 3 times in one week is normal. Right?)

[jhthorisson]

I'm going to have to get a net to see what the heck they were eating.

The more I think of it the more it sounds like a hatch rather than the dragon flies laying eggs.

Dang, This makes me want to go back again tonight. But I have family responsibilities. Friday maybe? (Fishing 3 times in one week is normal. Right?)

Yes, that's right it sounds very normal to me.

[jburge]

Some of the best advice I ever got was, "try the emerger." I have to say, that's sound. I'm still a newbie, but when I've seen a hatch going on and can't get the fish to bite, FWIW I've had great success with either a mayfly cripple or an ec caddis.

John

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

Sounds like a midge hatch. Try a mosquito pattern perhaps? Could be caddis though, in which case swining a small invicta is worth a try. Let us know how it turns out.

- Jeff

[DruLeeParsec]

Dragonflies & bats are both predators

I didn't realize that about dragonflies. That certainly sounds like there was a hatch I couldn't/didn't see.

If I see this again I'm going to switch to a midge pattern and if that doesn't get any response then I'll try swinging a wet fly to look like an emerger.

What an exciting night though. I thumped a bat or two with my fly rod and the bats did pick up my fly a couple of times (there were a LOT of bats) and the whole time the fish are rising and occasionally jumping.

Fun night.