Boredom Beater: What's your favorite hatch and why?

[The Fisherman]

OK, I'm stuck at the desk, cabin fever is high, and I'm trying to think of a thread where we can all contribute and dream of fair weather fishing. So, what's your favorite hatch to fish and why, and if you're a salt angler, what's your favorite salt "hatch" and why. No wrong answers, just a chance to see what's on everyone else's mind.

Freshwater: I'm going to go with Sulfurs today. (I say today because next week it may be midges or Tricos or...you get the picture.) They're easy for me to see, and there are a wide range of patterns (soft hackled wets, emergers, comparaduns, and spinners) and presentation tactics to keep me busy trying to fool fish from late afternoon into dark.

Salt: Definitely sand eels. The flat I fish on Block Island holds a substantial number of these baitfish, and a corresponding number of predatory bass. Again, you can fish for them in a wide range of styles over the course on an evening, from stripping to slow retrieve to fishing them at dead drift on the film, mending like you're fishing tiny dries. The takes range from subtle pulls to outright explosions, and they'll hit 4" mesh tube patterns or 1" sz 8 JV eels.

[dudley]

The Alderfly (zebra caddis)
There's a blanket hatch for 5 straight weeks in a river just 10 minutes from the house
You know you're going to have a good day when the air above the river is full of darting swallows and bluebirds as far as you can see, up and down the river
:)

[Brookiez]

Freshwater would have to be the Hendrickson, In the Catskills because of the fish especialy. When that hatch starts water and fish seem to defy gravity. One other reason is the hatch is so enormous you really put your ties to the test. why would the fish take anything but the real thing!

Saltwater would be bunker with a side of bluefish. i usually fish one of my own flies the "Bunker Clunker" witch before had no name, thanks :). Whats better than getting free rides in the yak, the bigger fish are more than happy to do just that. If only hooked fish stayed with the school :(

[ANDREW W MANCHESTER JR]

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h210/Andymanyankee/HOUSYANDSALMON016.jpg

[grayghost]

All of the above!

[dudley]

Yup Andy
..Those are the ones....:)

[ANDREW W MANCHESTER JR]

Hello
I couldn't agree with you more either fishing them dry or wet this is my favorite hatch.
Tight Lines and Alder Fly Loops
In the salt it's Twinkies
Andy M

[dudley]

I didn't pick a SW 'hatch' the first time around.. unlike the alder fly, I had to think about it.

On new moon, night tides in the spring, silversides will spawn in the eel grass right up against and on the sod banks.
Stripers smell that milt and it calls them in like....ah..like stripers to milt :rolleyes:
Big fish will be smashing the silversides (and the silence) within a rod's distance right up until the time that they figure out that you're standing there... which isn't hard for them to do if you're not careful. They'll come right up on the sod bank if the water is deep enough.
I can't say I've ever caught a lot of fish doing this, but the ones I have were memorable enough so that I make a point of looking for this 'hatch' on the right nights.

[WhipFish]

I'm going to go in a different direction and say the "crayfish hatch" on the Upper Housy. I know it's not a hatch but what I mean is hot days in July & August when the flow is low and the cray's are active and abundant and the bass hit them with ruthless abandonment. It's my favorite because I am able to bring my buddies who never fly fish, give them one of my spare rods and old waders, and watch them catch a load of bass with some of the ugliest casting you could ever see. Oh...and finish off the day with jokes and a beer in hand.

For me, it's just like watching little kids catch sunfish. Each one is a trophy.

As for the Salt...ask again next season because I'm starting on the surf this spring.

[Z Fisher]

Sulphurs. When they're coming off thick at twilight it's the coolest thing to be surrounded by a mist of bright yellow mayflies.

[waterworker]

Any and all of them.They are all part of the amazing cycles that make our sport so interesting,sometimes frustrating but always fun.......OK...sulfurs and sand eels!

[Col. Trautman]

Have to go with the Alder caddis....the Goddard caddis a close second!!
Both are crazy flyers and drive fish crazy (if you time it right of course). Only 4 months away, kinda like waiting for salmon season, LOL!


I dont have a salt hatch....just like charturese and white clousers as they bring me the most fish.



Jamie

[DrewB]

The winter caddis hatch is one of my favorites. There's nothing like watching fish rising along the ice to get my heart pounding! Plus some of the bigger fish like to feed on the surface during this hatch. It's also a challenge to match the "pupa twitch" that is often required to take these fish. A good Hendrickson spinnerfall would be my second choice.

[Flyone73]

I'd have to say the Sulphers. Just because with the work schedule, it is one of the easier hatches to catch in the evening. But I love them all.

[Kierran]

But I love them all.

No truer words have ever been spoken. See you on the river soon.

[Dave Underwood]

Ive been meaning to fish the "mouse" hatch on the farmy...thats the one I am dreaming about today.

[Rich Strolis]

Its not a hatch, but, it is all I think about....
Night fishing for predatory browns. The sound of big trout slurping in the dark is all I think of, especially when I fought a pig last year that ended up breaking my 15 pound maxima after going completely insane.........spring can't get here fast enough.

[WhipFish]

especially when I fought a pig last year that ended up breaking my 15 pound maxima after going completely insane.........spring can't get here fast enough.

I saw those night pics on your site. Ever since, my dreams have been jealous of yours. :)

[Dave Underwood]

Mice dont hatch? I guess my poor attempt at humor was just that.
Forget it, I take it back. I dream of Iso's. I remember when I broke one off with 6x...

[pvansch1]

Warm weather hatch. Warm enough to stay out in it all day.
Don't care about the bugs, fishin' ain't always about catching. :)

[Capt Bob]

For freshwater the Hendrickson Hatch is my favorite because fish can be caught on nymphs before the hatch gets underway, emergers and dries and of course spinners. Second would be caddis around Mothers Day. Seems to be quite prolific and the fish cooperate according to 20+ years of log data.
In salt, when the squid are pushing through the Watch Hill Reefs and and along the south side of Fishers is usually awesome. Squid patterns 6-7 inches with a hint of pink and purple are the ticket. Later in the season patterns matching Bay Anchovies can put stripers, false albacore, spanish mackeral, bluefish and even summer flounder on the hook.
Of course alot depends on where your fishing in the salt.

[The Patriot]

"Sulfurs" aka "Pale Evening Duns"... because there are several species (invaria, dorothea, vitreous, hebes, et al), from 14 to 20, which start in late May and continue thru most of the summer.... and because the weather is ideal.... and I can fish after work until dark..... and because you can fish them all day, either as nymphs, emergers, duns, or spinners... I once fished a sulfur hatch on a gray cloudy day from 3pm till dark with rising fish all around me for the duration.... they're easy to see..... the fish get acclimated to them and you can use a big #14 parachute or comparadun as a searching pattern in the middle of the day, if you're so inclined.....

Isonychia also offer alot of opportunities, over many months, and I think are underrated. Hendricksons are a favorite too, first major mayfly hatch of the year, but relatively short lived and sometimes unreliable.... the spinner falls are great though, when you hit them right.....


Salt.... I don't fish the salt enough or know enough about it.... but I like sand eels.... they seem abundant, come at a good time of year, and have produced my best fishing results. A close second would be peanut bunker, because I once fished a prolific blitz at the Charlestown beach and breachway that had bass and blues on the surface up and down the beach for hours and hours..... a memorable experience I have been unable to duplicate since....

I can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnell...... I definitely plan to get out on the Farmington soon, and may even take a ride down to the Hous for some stripers in March.....

Spring is definitely on the way!

[pork]

This year was the first year I ever fished the white fly hatch (Housy) and boy was it fun! All the waiting around, not catching much was worth the fast-paced carnage that ensued as the sun set.

I meant to catch the Alder hatch, but I didn't make it...will have to do it this season.

[TROUTI]

I d have to say Hendricksons, esp if I am fishing with Whipfish and using his Hendricksons!!
He ties a real nice Hendrickson. That is a hint Whip and a plug for you! The Sulphur hatch would be next on my list esp. if the weather and bugs co operate. In years past, some time ago I ve been on the Farmington where it looked like it was snowing Sulphurs. Lastly the BWO s is also a favorite of mine.I liken them to the Spanish Armada at time floating down the river, like little sailboats !!

[Catch 22]

fishin' ain't always about catching.

Amen.

Jeff

[WhipFish]

Esp. if I am fishing with Whipfish and using his Hendricksons!! He ties a real nice Hendrickson. That is a hint Whip and a plug for you!

Okay okay...quit puckering up. I all ready tied your new ones for this season. I bet last years are still fishable.

And I'm going to add the Hendricksons to my list too because that hatch says that winter is gone and the fishing is ON!

[peconic]

So i am still clearly a newbie at this and since everyone seems to have some free time around this time of year, how about suplying a pic of your favorite fly to fish during your favorite hatch. That was us new guys can learn what to use during the hatch as well?

Just throwing it out there....

[dudley]

So i am still clearly a newbie at this and since everyone seems to have some free time around this time of year, how about suplying a pic of your favorite fly to fish during your favorite hatch. That was us new guys can learn what to use during the hatch as well?

Just throwing it out there....not my photo but close enough.(alder fly) http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s275/eagleelk/Soft%20Hackle%20Swap/DSCN1376.jpg

[The Fisherman]

Dudley, I tied some Bergman Alders a ways back and I hate the way they came out. Still, they might be fishable. ;-)

[WhipFish]

A pic of your favorite fly to fish during your favorite hatch. That way us new guys can learn what to use during the hatch as well?

For topwater during the Hendricksons, my fav' is the Sparkle Dun I posted a few weeks ago. You can find it in the Freshwater Patterns Forum. As for the "crayfish hatch", big heavy brown buggers with lots of marabou and some flash. Nothin' special about them except to the bass. They murder 'em!