Tying to Match the Hatch

[TableGrouch 0]

Ran into a Sulfur emergence on one of my favorite streams last year in mid-May and came away a bit frustrated by the end result. Fish were actively feeding and I managed plenty of inspection rises yet very few takes. So I'm back at the bench getting ready (and hoping) for another go at them this year. I'd like some opinions on tying a parachute pattern to match the hatch.

 

The subimago has an opaque dark dun wing but the legs are yellow. (Abdomen from the underside is yellow/burnt orange, thorax much darker coloration with some deep gray tones.)

 

I'm going with a parachute as I like the low profile for emerging insects. I'm likely overanalyzing this, but my question, when wrapping the hackle should I be concerned more about wing color or leg color to match the hatch?

 

I'm tempted to use a dark dun and a light ginger hackle and wrap both (similar to an Adams).

 

 

[Bruce Norikane 0]

Nothing works all the time for me, but here's some things that I try during PMD hatches in Colorado. You've probably already tried these.

Floating pheasant tail nymph, even when I see trout taking adults on the surface.

Comparadun

Sparkle Dun

 

For your parachute, I usually match the post to the wing color.

 

For the yellow legs, you could try a light hackle and after wrapping, use a yellow Sharpie to draw legs. Or you could color the whole feather yellow before wrapping. Either a permanent marker, Kool-Aid dyeing or food color dyes would work.

 

You could even take the marker onstream and try some variations while you fish.

[Rocco 0]

That's why God made hip flasks!

 

You can go nuts trying to exactly match an emergent fly in exactly the form really selective trout are hammering. And lose a good chunk of the hatch time switching between the myriad versions you'll need in your fly box. And even then be wrong if it is a complex hatch and they are actually eating something far less noticeable than a sulphur.

 

Sooo, for those rare occasions when I actually have the right fly box with me for the hatch at hand... I try to have a high floating Comparadun and a 'damp' low floater/surface film copy with a bit of sparkle shuck.

 

I ALWAYS have Adams, Royal Coachmen, Hexes, and Usuals in various sizes for the non picky eaters.

 

Mostly though, I fish nymphs.

 

Rocco

[feathers5 0]

Sulfur can be real picky. Sometimes they're on emergers, floating nymphs or duns. I make sure I have emergers and floating nymphs with me along with several different style duns, parachutes, Catskill style, comparaduns, etc. They sure can be frustrating at times.

[redietz 0]

Sulfur can be real picky. Sometimes they're on emergers, floating nymphs or duns. I make sure I have emergers and floating nymphs with me along with several different style duns, parachutes, Catskill style, comparaduns, etc. They sure can be frustrating at times.

 

Very true. I find sulfurs to be one of the most difficult hatches to match, and I fish over them a lot I ran into a heavy hatch a couple of days ago, and did some experimenting. I'd been catching fish regularly with wet flies, but so many duns were being eaten on the surface that I felt compelled to fish dries for a bit. I tried, in succession, a parachute, a Catskill style and a comparadun. They were all the same size and color. The parachute drew almost no interest other than a couple of refusals. I hooked three on the Catskill style, and missed several more. The compardun only drew a single take, although I did hook and land the fish. I also, as a control, I also tried a Renegade (don't laugh, I've had really good luck with them during sulfur hatches at times -- maybe because they're something different.) It drew about as many takes as the Catskill style, and more than the parachute or comparadun. I went back to fishing wets and immediately caught two on the first two casts. All this is at the some spot on the river, and almost every natural I watched floating by got eaten. I've tried the same experiment with the same flies at other times, and have had vastly different results.

 

Go figure.

[spiralspey 0]

First off if you're getting refusals I think it's a good thing. It means you probably have the right fly, it's your presentation. Go down one tippet size, lengthen your tippet, try one size smaller fly, or try all three and you'll be surprised how often that's all it takes to turn refusals into confident rises.

 

My favorite dry for sulphurs and PMD's is a parachute too. I just match the belly color and use a light dun hackle. I usually use a white wing post mainly so I can see the fly, but I do carry ones with dun wings too just in case. Some of my local bugs have bright yellow wings, and I've tried matching that with very poor results, so I usually stick with white or dun posts. I also use comparaduns and sparkle duns on occasion, but find the parachutes work very well and they float better after hooking a couple fish.

[phg 0]

When sulphurs are coming off on the South Holston, I've had reasonable luck using a Catskill size 16 sulphur dun, but I've had better luck swinging a size 14 partridge and yellow past the rise forms.

 

Of course I've also had days where I couldn't buy a hit no matter what fly I had on.... Sulphur hatches can be frustrating!

[TableGrouch 0]

Thanks for all the input! Some really thoughtful suggestions. It is appreciated. I like fishing tandem rigs and will add some emergers and floating nymphs to tag onto my sulphur dun arsenal. I particularly like the suggestion of a hip flask and am certain that will be useful!

[prairiedrifter 0]

I have found during the sulphur hatch emergers work better than duns. It often appears that they are feeding on duns, but they aren't. Sometimes the only time I can confirm that they have eaten a dun is if it fluttered into there strike zone. Movement made them strike, otherwise they were taking emergers. This is a parachute that works for me.