Week of March 30th 2025: One More Week!
Week of March 30th: One More Week!
My wife laughed at me recently. Not an uncommon event, but this time it was because of my exuberance about Hendricksons. Typically in NJ and the in the Catskills, the Hendricksons come around the second week of April. The relatively warm and snowless winter we had may bring them about early. The Hendricksons follow the forsythia and I have been watching. Clearly there are yellow flowers blooming and that could mean they’re on their way early. I have seen some nymphs and I am excited. It’s OK that folks, the uninitiated into fly fishing, tying, or entomology, have not really thought enough (or at all) about these diminutive animals to feel any more than mild and brief interest. I think they’re great. We do not have enormous hatches of them either. The nymphs and emergers get lots of looks from fish for me as my lead fly above small olive or caddis emergers size#18 or smaller. Hendricksons signify good weather and good fishing.
This week was no exception and next week looks pretty good. We may see some much needed rain. Despite the massive number of cars at the entrances to the TCAs, fishable water can still be found. I went out several afternoons after 4:00 and both weekend mornings. Between midges, WD40s in olive, and RS2s in gray behind nymphs in #16 - #18 , hare’s ear, pheasant tail, and Hendricksons, in the morning and La Fontaine, Bird’s Nest, and spider-style soft hackles in the afternoon, there is a lot to choose from. One afternoon I could not key in and threw on a mopfly to satiate my bruised ego. I found a grey zonker to work in the hard to reach concerns of a pool or a far banks when swung through and stripped back. From Instagram, it seems that perdigons, red darts and Duracel Euro flies are excellent choices, too. Midges are more my speed so I copied John Collin’s soft hackle BWO emerger and made this on a #18 dry/emerger hook: John knows what works!
Notice the Guideline rod I “borrowed” from the shop to try out. It is a fantastic rod - super accurate, fast, and strong! I found switching from nymph to streamer was seamless with the nine foot NT11 with a five weight line. The rod responded to subtle takes while slow drifting the tandem wet fly and tiny emerger combos. With little more than a flick of the wrist, it picks up and throws a line with precision and it is very responsive when keeping a lively fish on a barbless hook. Come cast one today.
See you out there, Roy B.
Morning 9-11 am: Midge and BWO activity. Sculpins, JC’s eggsucking leech and streamers. Look for rising fish and try small wet flies or Griffith’s gnats. Midday through Late Afternoon 12 noon - 3:30pm: Early Black Stonefly Taeniopteryx nivalis Tim's stonefly, Black Copper John #16 Early Iron Blue Quill Baetis tricaudatus RS2, Adams, Pheasant Tail Nymph #16-18 Quill Gordon Epeorus pluralis Hare's Ear nymph #12-14, Quill Gordon Dry #12-14 Hendrickson Ephemerella subvaria Light Hendrickson #12-14, Red Quill #14 if they arrive earlier than expected.