North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine March 2018 | страница 72

HATCH GUIDE:
Midwest
Hendricksons
By Brian Kozminski
Photos by Kevin Jozwiak
Anxiety. It’s a nervous wrecking ball inside me.
Tonight it’s gut-wrenching, and won’t allow me to
sleep. It’s been months since I’ve seen a bug hatch,
seen one wriggle free for a trout to eat.
There’s still some white stuff on the southern
ridges. But the forecast calls for mid-fifties next
week and daylight gains each day. Right now, on
the cusp of vernal equinox, I can only tie so many
more flies, and ready my gear so many times—I
need to cast a dry fly. Then I can sleep.
Over the past few months I have filled my fly
boxes with the essential patterns to get me through
the season, starting with those to match the long
awaited arrival of the Hendrickson, Ephemerella
subvaria, which occurs, typically, in late April or
early May.
The length and severity of winter predicates
when this hatch might arrive. More snow, longer
melt times and higher cold water may push this
hatch into May, while a proper winter may have
hatch times more aligned with Michigan’s annual
trout opener, which occurs the last Satur-day in
April. The length of the hatch can be as short as
half hour each day, or extend to a couple hours,
depending on temperature and humidity. The entire
hatch can last from one week to al-most three
weeks depending on how far north you are.
I have seen Hendricksons hatch in snow
squalls and on sunny days, but they prefer cloudy
afternoons and mild temperatures. These bugs
may bring a few decent trout to your net, but don’t
get disappointed if you don’t land couple 20-inch
browns—those big guys are still in streamer mode
and this hatch isn’t very desirable to them; be
happy with a healthy 12-to 14- inch fish that has
endured winter and is willing to join you for the
arrival of another promising dry-fly season.
Although the Hendrickson is smaller than
mayflies that emerge later in the season, this is
a significant hatch any dedicated angler will be
thinking about—and possibly losing sleep over—
as winter wanes. The Midwest’s first mayfly party of
the season stretches from the New England coast to
Pennsylvania, and throughout the upper Midwest,
including Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa
and Wisconsin.
The nymphs live in swift streams with gravel
beds. Hendrickson are a highly sensitive mayfly
that does not tolerate pollution. They are crawlers
and by nature lack a deft ability to swim. They
often move to slowish water prior to emergence.
Biologists have noticed a peculiar behavior in
these dark and light-banded mini mayflies—they
dart from substrate to the surface in a practice run
methodology, prior to the actual hatch.
So, how do you approach those tests swims?
Dead drifting a #14 Pheasant Tail, a bead-head
olive Hare’s-Ear or a green Copper John can be
effective while waiting for the daily emer-gence.
When heading to the river, be sure to carry
a few Comparaduns and crippled or stillborn
imitations. The hatch may only last for an hour—
longer if you have clouds and precipitation—but
the trout key on the emergers first, then snack
on stillborns. After an hour of gorging, the trout
may seem to stop or slow in feeding. At this time
they are actually looking for the egg-sacked and
nutrient-rich spent females, which have the bonus
of caviar. When this happens, tie on a spent pattern
with a soft orange/yellow abdomen to match. There
is debate on whether the female ova-deposits
while in flight or at contact with the water. Either
way, prepare yourself with flies to match male and
female spent Hendricksons.