"Sulphur" Emergers
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I love this time of year because of the insects that I find on the Swift and the Farmy.
The Ephemerella Dorothea is really the main species that can claim the name "sulphur" although there are others. Check out the swift around 10am for the swooping cedar waxwings (read quote above) followed by surface activity. I LOVE swinging a wet soft hackle in front of a bulging trout and many times I fish the entire rise with that fly.
Hook - 16 or 18
Body - olive thread from hook bend to eye
Thorax - bright yellow rabbit fur
Hackle - light ginger colored hen hackle
(Note: Authors Thomas Ames Jr. and Ed Engle have mentioned a bit of orange colored hackle for this fly. I've used some orange rabbit in the thorax and it does the trick. Do trout really care about color? Well, they were not turned off by either color!)
The photo on the right has the bright yellow thorax and some orange thorax. Take your pick.
The Needhami
This is the go-to summer fly on the Farmy in the opinion of many. Starting in July this diminutive fly (sizes 20 to 26) will hatch all day right into early September.
It's known as the little Hendrickson due to its colors. Two years ago I spent three days on that river and had tied up two dozen of these fliesto fish the Farmy and then promptly left them at home. That required a trip to UpCountry to get replacements which was the first time in 30 years that I bought a freshwater fly. That's how important this fly is.
Note: This fly has found a home on the Farmy. Word has it that's not found on the Catskill Rivers or in northern New England. Some anglers in those regions have never heard of it or seen it. If you know otherwise please let me know.
Hook - size 20 to 26
Tail - one strand of midge flash'
Body - chestnut brown thread
Thorax - synthetic brown dubbing
Wing - ultra fine post yarn material in a slate blue color.
I don't fish the Farmington often enough to claim any unique knowledge of the river which is why I check out the UpCountry website to know what's going on. They will tell you everything - what flies are producing and what spots are HOT. That last attribute is a welcome relief from the "I will tell you about the fish that I catch but never where I caught them" crowd!!!!! Those are the guys that really don't want you fishing or catching trout where they fish.
RAIN
As I write the weather boys are talking about some big T Storms. We will see..
Ken
6 comments:
Those are great looking emergers/wet flies, the right size and color.
Needhami - You are right about them being a Farmington hatch. Can't say I've seem them anywhere else.
Paul T.
Love the write up on flies Ken. Out of curiosity, when you're on rivers other than the Swift - do you ever use bigger, bushier dries like a big ol' Adams/Humpy?
Another question about some of the freestones in the central part of the state. How do you think we hold up through summer? Last year I mostly stayed off places like the Ware and EB because I thought they wouldn't be productive, even during low light (morning and sunset). Is that the case?
Thanks!
Andrew D
Andrew D.
I never use a humpy and only a large Adams on occasions where I'm fishing pocket water. Usually a large comparadun will do it.
Ken
I have heard of needhami hatches on the upper Delaware, but the flies are apparently larger there... 16 - 20. I've had wonderful days fishing this hatch on the Farmington... spinners often fall right at first light followed by the hatching duns. The hatch can sputter on and off through most of the afternoon, just enough to keep fish sipping here and there. A rare pleasure to have 8+ hours of match-the-hatch dry fly fishing targeting rising fish through the middle of the day in the high heat of summer here in the East! Of course there are big fish in the Farmy (though probably not as big as the biggest coming from the Swift), but for me it is the hatches that put it above the other rivers in southern New England.
Brendan,
Tailwaters can be a puzzle. A mayfly species on a tailwater is usually smaller than on a freestone but there are usually many more of them. There are also fewer species on your average tailwater.
Ken
The upper Delaware also consists of a couple of tailwaters, but perhaps they aren't as cold (due to distance from the dam or other factors) so the needhami are bigger? The Farmington is a bit of the best of both worlds with the cold, nutrient-rich dam release quickly mixing with the freestone-waters of the Still River... dense hatches of the typical tailwater bugs like sulfurs and olives and great diversity as well. I've heard it said that every trout stream insect that lives east of the Mississippi can be found in Penn's Creek, PA... I feel like the Farmington might be as close as we come to that in New England.
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