Week of June 29th 2025: Summer Flies
Week of June 29th: Summer Flies
I love reading about trout streams that wander through meadows surrounded by tall grass. Invariably, anglers turn to grasshopper patterns and gingerly cast to mammoth trout who cruise the undercut banks and sip hoppers casually as can be. Do those streams get too hot to fish eventually? Maybe, one day, I’ll find out. In the meantime, I can cast hoppers to panfish and bass and perch! I have seen two perch this year and some spectacular crappie and bluegill. Not a whole lot of bass, yet.
Despite the heat wave, a cool cloudy day or two and overnights in the low 60s can bring the river temperatures below 64, like on Saturday, or 66 degrees, as it was Sunday morning. The sun and air temps in the 80s closed that opportunity down as quickly as it opened up. Those who took advantage saw we have a few remaining mayflies: Isonychia, Cahill, and some lingering sulphurs and stoneflies. The caddis and BWOs never really stop, but since it is time to mind the temperatures, increasing the likelihood of more holdover trout come September, you can find me hunting around ponds and lakes or south of Clinton along route 31, looking for warm water species and using terrestrial patterns to find them.
Currently, in addition to hoppers, the shop has beetles, black ants, red ants, Chernobyl ants, and even a yellow-jacket pattern! One of the great things about fishing terrestrials is that, when the real thing hits the water, they tend to panic and that means we can twitch a bug to induce a strike. We also have plenty of poppers and streamers for largemouth bass. Hunterdon and Sussex county have public parks and ponds to find them.
If one has the time to bounce over the border to PA or the tailwaters of NY can be an epic day trip or a quick overnight campout. Plan ahead and visit us for your flies and tackle.
Heads-up as we slide into the Fourth of July Weekend we will be closed for Independence day and Mondays and Tuesdays in July.
See you out there, Roy B.