It’s the best time of the year on the Western Rivers. Big fish are coming to the surface eating big bugs. As a fly angler, it’s hard to ask for anything better than that! In this article, we’ll briefly discuss one of the largest insects that trout love to feed on: the Salmon Fly.
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
The Salmon Fly, or as our Latin brethren would call them Pteronarcy’s, are the largest species of stoneflies and provide an excellent food source for hungry trout.
These insects can reach lengths of 3″ and can be easily seen when fly through the air. They have two pairs of wings, which make them easy to identify, even when they’re flying far away from you.
This is the best time of year to catch big fish on big flies. People come from all over to fish this hatch and it’s for a good reason.
Life Cycle
These insects can live for 2-4 years in the water before they swim/crawl to the banks and hatch out of their exoskeletons. They are always available to the trout, in their nymph stages and can range in size. From really small mayfly-like sizes to large (2.5″).
These insects start off as an egg, which lasts for about 8 months or so before becoming a nymph, which again lasts for a few years, before they hatch into their winged-adult forms. They don’t live long as adults as their primary function is to mate and lay eggs. Adult Salmon Flies typically only live for a few days.
Habitat
Salmon Flies are an indicator species; therefore, you’ll find them in healthy ecosystems free of water contamination and hot temperatures. They can be found in river systems all over the west from the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and Cascades.
Iconic Salmon Fly hatches are found on rivers such as the Henry’s Fork of the Snake in Idaho, the Madison River in Montana, and of course, the Gunnison River right here in Western Colorado.
"The Hatch"
Unfortunately, these big bugs are not available to the fish year-round. They typically start hatching late May through early July. When water temps near the 55 degree mark, you’ll start to see some Salmon Flies migrating toward the banks, getting ready to hatch into their adult forms.
Salmon Flies will usually crawl to the banks at night; you may here this phenomenon called an “emergence.” If you get to the river early enough, you can find nymphs crawling around near rocks and willows. Fishing a nymph pattern early in the morning can prove quite effective.
These big bugs will hang around for about a week or so until they give-way to other hatches for the summer. Other stonefly species hatch throughout the summer but the Salmon Flies are pretty much limited to the early portions of the summer. We’ll discuss other stonefly species, in a future blog.
Fly Patterns
When these big bugs are around, you’ll want to have some patterns to immitate them. Trout love eating these insects. I’d recommend beefing up your tippet, as these fish rarely get leader shy when these big bugs are around.
Dry Fly
- Rogue Foam Salmon
- Salmon Chubby
- Bulletheads Salmon
Nymphs
- Pats Rubber Legs (coffee, black, purple)
- Kaufmann’s Stone
- Prince Nymphs
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