Fall is a great time of year to be on your favorite river. That’s where I’ve been lately, walking along the river watching for rising fish. As you know, I enjoy fishing with dry flies. So what have I seen? Tons of mayflies on the river.
The weather has been perfect for Pale Morning Duns (PMD) and Baetis / Blue Wing Olives (BWO). Cool, overcast, and rainy days make for some great fishing.
Raindrop
Here is a picture from last week during a massive hatch of bugs.
Most of the fall flavs have hatched and the majority of mayflies remaining are PMD’s and BWO’s.
PMDs and Baetis in Eddy
Sure, there are other insects available for the fish to munch on, including October Caddis, smaller caddis, and Mahogany Duns to name a few.
But mostly, it’s a PMD and BWO game.
Pale Morning Dun
Baetis / Blue Wing Olive
Mahogany Dun
What continues to confound me is why in the world would a fish rise and eat my fly with all these available to them? But they do.
This big fish thought the fly was a real PMD…
But it was a Sparkle Dun.
The Sparkle Dun is a simple, but effective fly that just flat out catches fish. I tie these in sizes 20 – 8, matching the body color to imitate the natural insect.
For more information on Pale Morning Duns and Blue Wing Olive mayflies, be sure to check out my previous RiverKeeper Flies posts.
Now go see if you can find your own hatch of mayflies on the river and see if you can hook a trout or two.
Enjoy…go fish!
