Bug Munchin' Bonanza!!!
It's bug time on the White River System, and the dry fly anglers, and super solid fish are coming out of the wood works to capitalize on one of the bigger hatches I've ever seen. Hatches are starting at about 10:00 am and running until 5:00 pm with another resurgence of bugs in the last hour of light.
It can be tough for the weekend warrior to really dial into as about four different subspecies of the bug are coming off during different times of the day.
Bugs vary from: tan, insect green, olive, to almost black and will also vary in size from 14's to 20's. Wing structure and color on the bugs are almost paramount in importance. With that being said, its almost more important to find the timing and rythm of the hatch and things to come to stay one step ahead of what an angler is seeing on the water.
Fish are absoulutely smoking theses bugs. Fish are litereally spitting water on the takes, and shark wakes are almost a common occurence in the shallow flats while fish are chasing down bugs in really shallow water.
Pupae droppers, and soft hackles will be very productive and more forgiving as droppers, but what's the point when they are cramming in adults as fast as you can put the correct representation and presentation on the water.
Bugs vary from: tan, insect green, olive, to almost black and will also vary in size from 14's to 20's. Wing structure and color on the bugs are almost paramount in importance. With that being said, its almost more important to find the timing and rythm of the hatch and things to come to stay one step ahead of what an angler is seeing on the water.
Fish are absoulutely smoking theses bugs. Fish are litereally spitting water on the takes, and shark wakes are almost a common occurence in the shallow flats while fish are chasing down bugs in really shallow water.
Pupae droppers, and soft hackles will be very productive and more forgiving as droppers, but what's the point when they are cramming in adults as fast as you can put the correct representation and presentation on the water. Hatch has hit peak in some stretches of the river, but haven't travelled the entire length giving anglers probably 2 more weeks of solid caddis crushing action.
I've seens sulphurs already popping in masses in the warm water fisheries pushing us into the three week away window for our trout fisheries barring in huge cold fronts.
We've also seen some good spring rains, pushing lake levels into a place for great hatch work and good flows through the late spring and early summer. These flows will be perfect for our 1 in 15 years foam and rubber legs hatch that will be present this summer...........CICADAS!!!!!
FORREST SMITH
WWW.TROUTANDTIMBER.COM
(479)684-9189
