Every Day in May Writer’s Challenge: ‘Bugs’

EVERY DAY IN MAY CHALLENGE TOPICS DAY BY DAY

BUGS? Once again, my short comings are brought forth in print. Entomology, Latin, Genus, Species, Orders and Families. I have enough trouble remembering everyone in my own family let alone memorizing fancy names. Colors, size, hatch time, hatch location and a little studying in advance is often as best as I can do. The common names: Mayfly (BWO, PMD, Callibaetis, Green Drakes)…Stoneflies (Goldens, Little Blacks, California Stones, Skwala)…Caddis (Long Horns, Traveling Sedge, Cinnamons) Midges/Chironomids…Dragon and Damsels…  

Nothing too fancy there. I turn a rock over in a stream and see dark mayfly nymphs scurrying for their lives. I saw the size and color but wouldn’t be able to tell you which mayfly it is. I can maybe tell it was a clinger/crawler or swimmer etc. The other morning, I started to put on my waders. Overnight, a Caddis hatch had taken place as my waders and the nearby railing had large adult Caddis sitting there. Over a half inch long and medium brown in color. Hmm? What Caddis is that? Would I fish it now, or did it hatch last night? At least I noticed the body of water definitely has large Caddis. Maybe that is what I saw skittering across the surface early one morning? 

Believe me I have tried. I study, I read and look at pictures, I study TroutNut and I certainly tie all Winter to match insects. Take away the hatch charts, books, blogs, outside advice, then I’m left  observing and trying this and that…it is the essence of observation and adapting and then, maybe, bringing to the table whatever else you learn from outside sources.

This beauty was clinging to the side of my car last year. I have a little spring in the back yard. I have seen the rare Caddis and then this large Mayfly. You’d think I would followup with some foraging in the spring to see what really lives out there. I haven’t….yet.

I do take satisfaction in turning over those rocks, looking into stream side vegetation, watching little sailboats float down the river or inspecting the Caddis fluttering on the inside of my sunglass lens. I look at the coloring of Stoneflies crawling ashore and sat in amazement as Waterboatman (Corixia…look at that!) dive bombed a lake one October afternoon. There you have it. I have bombed out at Bug Basics 200. I do believe that the more I can fish, I will add to my knowledge. Heck, I probably know more than I realize. Just don’t ask me any Latin Names…although I do like that Hexagenia Limbata name….sounds like some Cuban Dance or Caribbean VooDoo thing in New Orleans. 

 Tomorrow’s Every Day in May Challenge Topic: Runoff

Aquatic Macro Work: Jan Hamrsky

AQUATIC INSECT.NET BY JAN HAMRSKY 

Some nice macro work here by Hamrsky on aquatic insects relevent to fly tying & fly fishing.

Jan Hamrsky at AquaticInsect.Net

 

Spider Bites & Eating Spiders

It seems to be that time of year where one just finds those big spiders tucked away in your bedding. Bites on ankles etc. make one wonder how many of those scary critters crawl about us at night. There are even stories re how many spiders we unknowingly consume at night via our gaping mouths (see spider myths). But when you do come across one of these in your bed it does give you pause! Wonder what kind this Pacific NW Spider was? Hobo?

Early morning visitor amongst the cozy bedding. Sleeping in?.....Not! Eek! (BSPP)

Bibios, Sweden & Old Crow Medicine Show

A little foot tapping music and some nice fish in the S. Lappland region of Sweden. Short & Sweet

Bibio Tribute

Fly Fishing: Entomology & The Cat

I left the house at 7pm intending to run an errand. I noticed a big, beautiful mayfly dun on my other car. I snapped a few pics and departed, figuring it would be gone when I returned. And, so it was, kind of. I returned to find the shuck in place of the dun. Now, I didn’t get a good enough look at the time to see what was totally going on when I originally left. So now, I gently secured the shuck with the intent of photographing it. I went to the front door and opened it and out jets Penelope the House Cat. Shoot it was 0845pm and almost dark. I chased after the cat and eventually removed her from beneath my rig. Hmmm….the shuck was destroyed in the pursuit of the cat! So much for my entomological studies…at least for tonight. What is very fascinating, for me, is that there is only the smallest little spring behind my house. So, was I watching a Dun prior to the emergence of a Spinner or…….

Fly Fishing: Bug Catcher

Common Garden/Cross Spider (Araneus diadematus) SwittersB

To me, there is nothing seemingly ‘common’ about this spider. It was a long ways from any garden as well. As I explored along the rocky shoreline of the Clackamas River, I came across this sizable spider working away on a web. A steady up river breeze ushered along hatches of assorted Caddis, PMD’s and midges. Remnants of a sizable Stonefly emergence littered the moss covered boulders. This busy spider prepared to intercept some portion of the shore bound insects. Once he was done, he tucked himself beneath some mossy growth attached to a boulder that supported his fly catcher. You are exactly right: the fishing was less than stellar on the Clack/Collawash R., so I passed off the time looking about the shoreline for this and that.

Cross Spider Hiding and Waiting for a trapped morsel (SwittersB)

Mt. Hood National Forest Proposes Decommissioning 255 miles of Collawash River Drainage Roads

Fly Fishing: Mayfly Dun to Spinner

As a beginning fly fisher, you are primed to observe. You have been prepped on what to look for on the water to provide a hint of what fish might be feeding upon. Fish rising, insects fluttering up ward or hovering over the water’s surface, birds swooping over the surface of the water feeding on something flying, over turning rocks, seining….all in an effort to figure out the likely menu. All this match the hatch effort begs some studying on your part: on the water observations, reading, watching videos and of course talking to fly fishers who share their wisdom. 

So, when those delicate little mayflies land upon you, a couple general points to think about for later study: Color of the wing? Color of the body: in this case yellowish green or is that greenish yellow? How many tails: 2 The general size of the body for identification/re-creation purposes. Time of day, location, conditions: late afternoon, 15′ up a sloped river bank and breezy.  A random study of the streamside vegetation revealed other such may fly spinners clinging to the vegetation. There were no fish rising. There were no birds swooping. There were no insects coming off the water or on the water, hovering above. 

So, for this particular stretch of the river, I found a Pale Morning Mayfly spinner, already molted out of the dun stage. I didn’t observe any signs of that stage and rarely have. The spinners were in a waiting mode. So I already missed their emergence and they had yet to descend down to the water to lay their eggs. Did any of that help me catch a fish on this day? Well, I wasn’t fishing but I was observing and adding to my discovery bank of streamside observations. Then I do home study and learn more about the habits of Pale Morning Duns and Spinners. Most important where and when do they generally hatch.

TroutNut provides a nice pictorial sequence of a mayfly molting from dun to spinner.

Minuscule Dragon Flies

The Dragon Flies and the Lady Bug

See More Minuscule Videos

 

Fly Fishing: The Water Is Alive

For the beginning fly fisher recognizing your insects can be confusing. On a lake, the insect population is seemingly distinct and more recognizable: hexagenia, callibaetis, dragons, damsels, and of course, the other creatures of scuds (rivers too), leeches, water boatman, chironomids (rivers too) etc. Maybe, at first you might confuse a damsel and dragon. On a river or stream, the puzzle can be a bit more confusing. 

The other night, an associate was fishing the McKenzie River. There were what appeared to be bright yellow, large mayflies out over the water, “as big as a dragon fly”. There were additional yellow mayflies near shore bobbing up and down and almost like a swarm. The fly fisher saw no surface activity from fish.

This is confusing for a beginner and also for the non-beginner. But, this is truly part of the fun of fly fishing! This part of the thinking, observing, planning, deciphering, responding that makes the endeavor so satisfying….at least if you successfully sort out the puzzle. If you don’t observe to start with or if you observe but can’t sort it out then it is daunting. But, don’t let it be.

Keep it exciting and do the research, which has never been easier for the beginner given today’s on line resources: identify the river (or lake) you were fishing. You can do this before or after your fishing. What hatch charts can you find for that water? What insects are present during what months or when you were fishing? Research those insects. Find pictures of the nymphs, duns, spinners for that mayfly lets say (or caddis?).

In my friends case: what were those ‘large’ yellow mayflies? PMD, PED, Yellow Sallys (stonefly), Epeorus, Golden Stones. Color, size, hatch location, stage of life (dun, spinner), hatch method, time of day…can be important in narrowing down the insects you are seeing. Asking the local shop; writing knowledgeable fly fishers who really know that water shed and insects. The resources are there. Then be armed with patterns for several insects from the bottom (nymphs) up to the top. Remember there can frequently be more than one mayfly hatching at the same time and the duns and spinners can be simultaneously present. Recognize the busy egg laying spinners (no fish activity); the hatching duns, different mayflies from spinners (in this case there could have been the hatching Epeorus, hatching Pale Morning Duns, and egg laying PMD spinners.

http://www.flyfishusa.com

In this instance, I did a little research and learned something interesting. The larger, yellow mayfly called Yellow Quills or Epeorus is a mayfly that ‘hatches’/'emerges’ beneath the surface and then moves to the surface to view. Now I know that I should have, for that particular mayfly on that river a larger yellow wet fly to be fished beneath the surface. I learned from my friends bewilderment and hopefully you will too.

So, stay patient. Study. Ask questions. Observe and keep notes. Take a picture if possible. And enjoy the puzzle! Then again, I did some more research and in Arlen Thomason’s excellent Bug Water, he and Rick Hafele arrived at Heptagenia solitaria…a PED. All part of the puzzle.

Fly Fishing Ponds in the Springtime

Tony Muncy

Flyfishing ponds, in the Spring, is a nice respite from the long Winter and the high runoffs of Springtime. The setting is more relaxed. The pace is, and should be, slower; a small puzzle to be solved. The smaller patterns of chironomids, dragons, damsels, scuds are perfect for subsurface presentations. Little poppers and emergers in the film can be productive in the evenings. This is 3 wt. time for smaller species, unless finessing larger bass or carp.

Many ponds are open year around. Weed growth can be a bit much in the Summer, but Spring and Fall pond fishing can be quite rewarding. Docks, rocks and shoreline structure often reinforce the fact that fish are holding to structure and close to the shoreline, as indicated in both of these pictures. Slow retrieves, almost vertical retrieves near structure, will produce fish.   

Tony has had his fair share of bigger fish, but you can see his, and Darly’s,  satisfaction with seducing these Crappie to the feathered creations.

Darly Reed with a nice Crappie (TMuncy)