Cranefly Life Cycle and Fly Patterns?

[johnstoeckel]

We've had quite a few craneflies hatching on my local streams (driftless area of SE MN) recently and this has gotten me thinking about the cranefly life cycle, fishing techniques, and fly patterns. This fly seems to be a bit of a mystery, at least to me, so I'm hoping you all can help educate me.

I've seen and fished the large grub like cranefly larva. I've also seen and fished cranefly adults -- mostly when the egg laying adults are skittering over the surface. But I'm confused about how this bug transforms from larva to egg laying adult and fishing techniques for those intermediate stages.

I read somewhere that the larva crawl out of the water to muddy stream banks, dig into the muddy bank where they pupate and hatch. This reference said that pupa and newly emerged adults were not of interest since they pupate and hatch out of the water (and hence are not accessible to fish). However, I've seen craneflies hatching that certainly appeared to be hatching in the water and I've read some sources that said some craneflies hatch in the stream.

So ... Do some craneflies hatch in the water? Do they swim / propel themselves from the stream bed to the surface during emergence? Do they hatch quickly or do they ride the surface for a period of time to dry out before they fly away? Do fish feed on emerging craneflies subsurface and are there subsurface cranefly emerger fly patterns and fishing techniques? Do fish feed on newly hatched cranefly adults and are there surface cranefly emerger/dun fly patterns and techniques?

There doesn't seem to be much angling information available about these bugs and they are certainly a bit of a mystery to me. Thanks in advance for your insights on this.

[JohnScott]

Here's a link to some pretty good stuff on craneflies. Glad you asked, because I've been noticing a pretty good hatch around here the past week, and I suspect they are coming from a creek that opens soon so I should be getting up to speed on them also.

John

http://www.west-fly-fishing.com/ento...aneflies.shtml

[bowfin47]

Simple, weighted, tan rubber-band and brown/tan burlap nymphs have both worked well for me in similar situations. Fish them on on the bottom, dead slow...

[JohnScott]

... based on the ones we've had around the house the past few days, and the pix on the westfly site.



Single orange strand FEB body, CDL fibers for legs, dun hen hackle for wings, and grizzly hackle clipped thorax style to provide floatation, hopefully, tied on size 14 Dai-Riki 125 hook.

Should be able to work this one out on a local creek Saturday. Kind of hoping it won't work, because I really wonder if I will ever be able to tie a second one !! If it does work well, I'll give it a thread of its own.

John

P.S. Thinking it might do better with grizzly hen hackle for the wings and dun hackle for the floatation ??

[johnstoeckel]

Thanks for the http://www.west-fly-fishing.com/ento...aneflies.shtml link. That's as good a description of the bug lifecycle as I've seen. It also explains and confirms the notion that the larva and egg laying adult are the main stages of interest to the angling.

I'm sure craneflies vary quite a bit in size and coloration, but here's an adult / dry fly pattern that quite a few folks here in the driftless (SE MN / SW WI / NE IA) really like:
http://www.graygoatflyfishing.com/20...ead-crane-fly/. One point worth noting is the emphasis on the legs as a key trigger aspect.