I spent the week in Hartford and Boston working, while others texted, called and emailed me about how good the fishing is in the New Jersey-Eastern PA area. Everything from, "Get your ass out here"...to..."I'm kicking trout ass on your flies, can you tie me some more?" Needless to say, I'm glad some of you are getting out and enjoying the stupid fishing the early spring warm weather has brought us.
From the reports, it looks like the Hendricksons are hatching in New Jersey along with Dark Grannoms and tons of midges. The Quill Gordons are also hatching on some streams. I spent some time along teh South Branch today, and saw plenty of Dark Grannoms in the air and on the water, but nothing taking them. There were also a few Hendricksons/Red Quills, and Olives. The gorge was packed with anglers, some guys said they did well, others not so well.
From the looks of it, it would seem the Hendrickson hatch will be one of those that occurs over a few weeks, with some days seeing good hatches, and others sporadic hatching. My guess is we (NJ) won't see heavy, concentrated hatches over a week like we do most years, instead it looks like the hatch will go on longer and be less sporadic. This doesn't mean the trout are not keyed on to the bugs, they are, and a well placed hendrickson imitation to an actively rising fish should work. If that doesn't work, go to the caddis.
My recommendations for surface flies would be:
Iris Cadds #14-16 with a green or olive body
Gray or apple green caddis adult #14-16
Hendrickson emergers or dries #12-14
With the caddis imitations, I wold err to the smaller side, mostly #16. We should start to see egg-laying grannoms once the air temps stay on the warmer side during the day.
We still are seeing some pretty heavy midge activity some days, too. So be prepared with a midge pattern of your choice. I like my Matt's Gnat or Mathew's Zelon midge.
Go get 'em.
From the reports, it looks like the Hendricksons are hatching in New Jersey along with Dark Grannoms and tons of midges. The Quill Gordons are also hatching on some streams. I spent some time along teh South Branch today, and saw plenty of Dark Grannoms in the air and on the water, but nothing taking them. There were also a few Hendricksons/Red Quills, and Olives. The gorge was packed with anglers, some guys said they did well, others not so well.
From the looks of it, it would seem the Hendrickson hatch will be one of those that occurs over a few weeks, with some days seeing good hatches, and others sporadic hatching. My guess is we (NJ) won't see heavy, concentrated hatches over a week like we do most years, instead it looks like the hatch will go on longer and be less sporadic. This doesn't mean the trout are not keyed on to the bugs, they are, and a well placed hendrickson imitation to an actively rising fish should work. If that doesn't work, go to the caddis.
My recommendations for surface flies would be:
Iris Cadds #14-16 with a green or olive body
Gray or apple green caddis adult #14-16
Hendrickson emergers or dries #12-14
With the caddis imitations, I wold err to the smaller side, mostly #16. We should start to see egg-laying grannoms once the air temps stay on the warmer side during the day.
We still are seeing some pretty heavy midge activity some days, too. So be prepared with a midge pattern of your choice. I like my Matt's Gnat or Mathew's Zelon midge.
Go get 'em.
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