Had to put bite in there because I didn’t know if hoppers counted. They hatch. Has to be my favorite. Nothing subtle about it. Crash the fly on the water, like I do most of the time anyway, and hold on. I could change the subject to Most Memorable Hopper Bite and I’m sure everyone would have one. 1985 Yellowstone/ Madison River(I think). Couldn’t keep um off the fly no matter how bad I was casting, pretty windy. If I was wading I think they would have taken them off my vest.
I think the western Green Drake is my favorite hatch. Big fish love them. Got fish to 28 inches on them. I often like to fish the 7am morning hatch/spinner fall before others get on the water.
You can’t beat Cicada’s either though.
Pale Morning Duns - the fish seem to really like those bugs up here when they hatch.
Brian 
[url=http://bowcrow.tripod.com:12911]Bowcrow Fishing Adventures[/url:12911]
The eastern green drake…for which all I need is a Sulpher pattern sweems whenever that hatch is coming off the penns,so is the sulpher.and they’ll be smash’in the sulpher every time…
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
“Wish ya great fishing”
I don’t match the hatch (as sea run trout don’t eat),
So I guess my FAV Hit would be when the bruisers are in a feeding frenzy in the late evening (we don’t know why they suddenly “switch to feeding mode”.
That’s a nice time to tie on a Mouse, … So I guess I like “Mouse hatches” 
PS… JC, funny how one can refer to insects by their Artificial imitation, instead of their name eh
Sort of like a friend who once said “Tunkwa was just FULL of Giant Half Backs and the ‘Bows were sippin’ 'em just under the surface” I never DID find out what he was really referring to (SheTies, … any ideas ?)
Christopher Chin
Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:33661]http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/[/url:33661]
[This message has been edited by fcch (edited 22 May 2005).]
Sulphurs because I like the anxiety of having sometimes less than 30 minutes to get it right and Tricos because I like to fish the dinky stuff.
Flying ants. Everything comes up to eat them. On one local lake you may take 7 species on a dry fly during an ant hatch - largmouth bass, small mouth bass, trout, bluegill, crappie, golden shiner, channel catfish.
Tricos because the hatch lasts so long. I just love the tough fishing. And you can catch some very nice fish on them to. My best was a 24 3/4 inch brown on a #20 Trico. Now as far as I know the only way to have more fun than that is “not” on your feet. Ron
Dear JC,
Another vote for the Hendrickson, aka Ephemerella subvaria.
It’s been a while since I hit a good hatch though.
I remember having to wade through a 6 foot wide patch of spent spinners in an eddy to get into position on the Lehigh River for the next days hatch.
Second place goes to rainy day Sulphurs. Rotunda’s or Dorothea’s it make no difference to me. Just make the day cool and rainy.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
JC, … It was more of a joke my reply.
Heck, … I can’t even name the fly in my box, let alone the insect it’s supposed to imitate.
hats off to those of you that can understand the entomo enough to match the hatch.
last time I fished a river where the order of the day was to match, I had to go to a local, ask, then show him my flies so he could point out the flies he was naming. (at least I DID have a collection of flies suitable for the hatch that was on)
Christopher Chin
Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:0f172]http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/[/url:0f172]
JC et.al.
Thanx all,
The question came about from your Northern Cousin as I don’t match the hatch here and my fly boxes are sorted into:
- Salmon flies that float
- Salmon flies that don’t
- Trout flies that work
- Trout flies I want to try
Christopher Chin
Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:c595c]http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/[/url:c595c]
[This message has been edited by fcch (edited 22 May 2005).]
The Yellow Sally-Sulfur evening hatch in the Smokies. Where did those fish come from??
Dear JC,
I find that on places where the Yellow Sally and Sulphur hatch occur concurrently a size 16 Sulphur usually does the trick.
It will soon be time here in PA to simply tie on a size 16 Light Cahill and go fishing.
They work from June to October.
Out of curiousity, I wonder if you are not properly enamored with the Hex hatch for the same reasons as I am not enamored with our fabled Green Drake hatch?
The bugs sure are impressive, but in my opinion the fish don’t seem to care. Most streams with a great Green Drake hatch in PA fish better with a Sulphur or Cahill on the end of your line.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
[This message has been edited by Tim Murphy (edited 22 May 2005).]
I’ll go with Bill Knepp on this one, the Eastern Green Drake on Penns is awesome. After that, its the April grannom on Penns and then the Sulphurs on Penns. Hmmm, seems to be a trend here.
Bill, I’ll be on Penns from 27 May to 3 June. Hope we get the drakes on time.
Frank Reid
I love them all, but am especially partial to BWO and Caddis–depending on the rivers/streams I’m on.
Mike
Nobody votes for Stoneflies, Willowflies, Salmonflies, or whatever you call them? Only bad thing about them is they come off when the rivers are too high to wade in, mostly. But big fish coming up to big flies? Wow!
Well, TODAY it would be caddis. Last nite I went out, clouds moved in after a sunny warm windy day. The fish were jumping out of their skins going after egg layers. A drag free drift got strikes, and drag or stripped retrieves got more. I have the image of a perfect, bright, wild brown, tail 2 inches clear of the water as it took my fly.
Incredible.
John