FFN Currents & Eddies

Catching the Hatch

Grey Fox

If you're not using this,or something similar, you're in trouble.

That means:
A. You're going by the calander on what should be hatching
B. You stopped by the local fly shop and asked the clerk, or saw on the chalk board what's been happening
C. You see some duns in the air and you think they're so & so
D. Your buddy yelled up the river to you that they''re so & so
E. You fished yesterday and they were taking so & so then
F. You only have afew patterns so you don't really care what's the hatch
G. You haven't a clue

You should, and since you've read this far you must have some ambition.
The more you fish the more you know the only way to know for sure is to catch the fly, and try and identify it.
How you catch it is academic, but catch it you must. Hand, it can be done, but even if you do, many times hand pressure destroys the inscet's form. Hat, good for close fliers, but water surface and just below, no good. Get a net. There are an assortment available that all work, in various configurations. Aquarium nets are work fine but seem to always be in the way when not in use.
A net such as the Midstream Riffler or the Signature Concepts Insect Net, 2 sticks at the end of a net which stores by winding the net around the sticks, is terrific for surface of subsurface skimming, but almost useless for aerial captures.
Wind River has 2 interesting inscet nets. The Bug Catcher's Mitt is a net bag that goes over your hand. This is one step better than using just you hand. The Landing Net Seine is a net bag that fits over your net frame. The disadvantages are, you have to carry a net, and if you do, to set up and take down the Landing Net Seine.
Far and away the best product for inscet capture is the Fly Tyers Carry All product pictured above, the Catch-A-Hatch. Given the highest rating of 5 Flies on FFN's ProductReviews by anglers. Extremely well made and engineered, the Catch-A-Hatch folds down or expands in seconds. The handle is an antenea and it's maximium length is about 24" which really comes in handy when working on those fast fliers. Collapsed at 6.75" and less than 1.25 oz. you don't even know it's in your pocket.
Fish are rising all over and your presentations are being rejected. Fly change after fly change doesn't change the results. Keep on plugging away hoping your next change will turn things around? Bit the bullet and get out your insect catching equipment. Catch a batch, match it as close to what you have in your box and hope the feeding continues.
This is the basic level that all fly fishers should become involved in. What follows are some advance levels you can take catching the hatch to map your progress in becoming the compleat angler.
Keep what you caught in the best condition you can. Specimins may be stored and saved in glass vials and preservative fluid indefinitely. Or when you get home, add the details of it in your log. Another highly rated item is Gary Borger's Borger Color System which has a data pad set up for keeping notes on inscets collected listing: date, time, stream/lake, organism, stages, sex, measurements and color of tail, body, abdomen, thorax head, eyes, antennae, gills, legs, wing pads, wings, case, egg mass and remarks. Or use your database facilities on your PC to build a collection of insects you've encountered. The computer will also allow you to take advantage of graphics should you have a scanner and/or a digital camera.
For over 4 weeks late in the season the dusk hatch was #20 baetis. Suddenly, this fly would do no more than draw heavily inspected rejections from the trout. Yet occasional baetis could be seen in the air. The duration of this hatch was 10 to 20 minutes but after about 8 minutes of rejections I knew I would have to bite the bullet and skim the surface with my Catch-A-Hatch.

Left. 5 minutes of skimming resulted in this scanned graphic. Flying Ants about 3 mm long.

Right. Here is a scanned image of flying ants tied on size 24 hooks to match.

Another example that catching the hatch provides specific information to your insects. Reference entomology books provide generalizations in color and size. Trout don't read so you have to imitate what they're actually feeding on. Tricos are normally tied in on #18-20. On the West Branch of the Croton, NY this season they seemed much smaller. Here in this enlarged graphic you can see they are about 3.5 mm long so those tied on 22-24 were much more successful than the larger ones. And the duns had a very distinct gray cast.
Successful tyers and anglers speak of the triggering aspects of a fly. On the tricos, the distinctively large thorax is thought of as a triggering item. Also note the top left spinner, the wing span in relation to the body.

Building this database of reference for your personal angling can be alot of fun and it won't be long before you'll have enough information to author your own "Hatches". In the off season you'll still benefit from it by studying these notes at your tying bench and developing your own theories and techniques for imitating your Catch-A-Hatches.