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Arizona winter bugs?

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Go get an aquarium net and dig around in the muck around the grass and small rocks, take the net full of stuff to a flat surface and dump it out and go thru it with a small stick or pencil. What you find is what the fish in your chosen waters are feeding on, you have an exact example of what you want to be tying for the fish in your area. You may get some surprises in your net that you didn't expect. The next thing you can do is go to the local game wardens, or park and recreation office and see what kind of material they have on insects in your area, this can be done online or at their office.

 

Blane

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Are you located in Arizona? From you profile I thought you were in Pennsylvania. I live in Arizona myself. We do have a good number of bugs.

 

Depending on the elevation, you will encounter any numerous hatches. Most high streams have very few hatches during the winter. On the Salt River you can see hatches of Tricos as early as late January, BWOs come off the water constantly at this low elevation. Just the other day I was in a swarm of BWO spinners on the lower salt. Few fish key in on them.

 

Small-ish black stoneflies hatch in a few creeks during late winter and early spring. Most notably Tonto Creek and Workman Creek experience these hatches. Blue Wing Olives will come off the water sometimes during the winter. If you mean nymphs, that is a whole different story. BWOs, PMDs, even certain species of small drakes exist depending on the stream.

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Are you located in Arizona? From you profile I thought you were in Pennsylvania. I live in Arizona myself. We do have a good number of bugs.

 

Depending on the elevation, you will encounter any numerous hatches. Most high streams have very few hatches during the winter. On the Salt River you can see hatches of Tricos as early as late January, BWOs come off the water constantly at this low elevation. Just the other day I was in a swarm of BWO spinners on the lower salt. Few fish key in on them.

 

Small-ish black stoneflies hatch in a few creeks during late winter and early spring. Most notably Tonto Creek and Workman Creek experience these hatches. Blue Wing Olives will come off the water sometimes during the winter. If you mean nymphs, that is a whole different story. BWOs, PMDs, even certain species of small drakes exist depending on the stream.

i come out here every six weeks to fish on the colorado

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OK. I am assuming that you are referring to Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River. If so, there are very few hatches there that bring the fish up this time of year, if any. Midges may or may not hatch. You'll find midges of black, olive, and cream at Lee's Ferry. There are some small annelids and plenty of scuds. So fish zebra midges under an inicator. SJWs, scuds, and glo-bugs also will work depending on the time of year. During the summer fish will take midges on the top and during July the cicadas cause fish to key in on them.

 

So you come all the way to Arizona from Pennsylvania every six weeks just to fish the Colorado?

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Are you located in Arizona? From you profile I thought you were in Pennsylvania. I live in Arizona myself. We do have a good number of bugs.

 

Depending on the elevation, you will encounter any numerous hatches. Most high streams have very few hatches during the winter. On the Salt River you can see hatches of Tricos as early as late January, BWOs come off the water constantly at this low elevation. Just the other day I was in a swarm of BWO spinners on the lower salt. Few fish key in on them.

 

Small-ish black stoneflies hatch in a few creeks during late winter and early spring. Most notably Tonto Creek and Workman Creek experience these hatches. Blue Wing Olives will come off the water sometimes during the winter. If you mean nymphs, that is a whole different story. BWOs, PMDs, even certain species of small drakes exist depending on the stream.

i fish under the Davis damn in mainly in Bullhead city

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Are you located in Arizona? From you profile I thought you were in Pennsylvania. I live in Arizona myself. We do have a good number of bugs.

 

Depending on the elevation, you will encounter any numerous hatches. Most high streams have very few hatches during the winter. On the Salt River you can see hatches of Tricos as early as late January, BWOs come off the water constantly at this low elevation. Just the other day I was in a swarm of BWO spinners on the lower salt. Few fish key in on them.

 

Small-ish black stoneflies hatch in a few creeks during late winter and early spring. Most notably Tonto Creek and Workman Creek experience these hatches. Blue Wing Olives will come off the water sometimes during the winter. If you mean nymphs, that is a whole different story. BWOs, PMDs, even certain species of small drakes exist depending on the stream.

i fish under the Davis damn in mainly in Bullhead city

 

 

Not much to worry about in terms of bugs there. I think they stock it with ttrout and there are some holdovers. Try streamers for striped bass, if you are where I think you are talking about. This post seems kinda stange.

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I can tell you a large white bunny leach stripped down there would produce stripers, I don't know if they boil on the lake, but if they do the white leach would kill them in the summer, I used to live in Las Vegas, but it may be a bit crowded on the river below the dam to fish it. Also that lake, can't remember the name, has some really nice bluegill in it in the coves if you can get to them. Most of the stocker trout get eaten by the stripers down there, I caught several using AC Plugs before I started fly fishing. That lake is filled with dragon fly nymphs, crawfish, damsel fly nymphs, midges and so many other bugs you wouldn't believe. If you have access to a boat in the summer, try boil chasing with the leech and you will be tired long before you catch your limit. I guess a sit down jet ski would work too, used to see a guy do it on Lake Mead before I moved. The stripers really start boiling when the water temp gets to about 70-72 some time around June if I remember correctly. The other thing is fishing off the points in the lake just around late morning, or deep in the coves at daybreak, stripers will be in there hitting the surface after shad, you'll see the circles and be able to hear them too. Hope this helps you, b/c I don't know about fishing for trout below the dam.

 

Blane

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I can tell you a large white bunny leach stripped down there would produce stripers, I don't know if they boil on the lake, but if they do the white leach would kill them in the summer, I used to live in Las Vegas, but it may be a bit crowded on the river below the dam to fish it. Also that lake, can't remember the name, has some really nice bluegill in it in the coves if you can get to them. Most of the stocker trout get eaten by the stripers down there, I caught several using AC Plugs before I started fly fishing. That lake is filled with dragon fly nymphs, crawfish, damsel fly nymphs, midges and so many other bugs you wouldn't believe. If you have access to a boat in the summer, try boil chasing with the leech and you will be tired long before you catch your limit. I guess a sit down jet ski would work too, used to see a guy do it on Lake Mead before I moved. The stripers really start boiling when the water temp gets to about 70-72 some time around June if I remember correctly. The other thing is fishing off the points in the lake just around late morning, or deep in the coves at daybreak, stripers will be in there hitting the surface after shad, you'll see the circles and be able to hear them too. Hope this helps you, b/c I don't know about fishing for trout below the dam.

 

Blane

Good advice for the stripers and i think you mean Lake Havesu

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