Ephemerella dorothea Needham
Nymph: Length, 68 mm. Pattern resembles that figured for the dark form of invaria as regards distribution of light and dark areas. In dorothea, however, the dark areas are relatively much lighter than in invaria, and generally golden to straw color, thickly freckled with small light brown dots.
Subimago: Body and wings light reddish brown, with olive reflections; legs and tails yellowish white.
Imago: Length, 79 mm. Compound eyes of male plae orange, face yellowish white; thorax and abdominal segments 810 golden yellow, segments 17 light reddish brown: legs and tails yellowish white; wings hyaline, the long veins amber, crossveins nearly colorless.
Habitat: Similar to that described for invaria. The two species are often taken in the same sample
Emergence: May 12-July 3.
Ephemerella Invaria (Walker)
Nymph: Length, 8-10 mm. Color and pattern variable; "typical" forms have head, thorax, and legs buff to pale lovie, with dark-brown marks including a broad band on the pronotum just behind the front margin, a broad U-shaped mark on the mesonotum, and leg bands: abdomen dark brown above, segments 3-7 with a pale dot on each side of the mid-line near rear margins, 4-5 with pale lateral areas, 6 pale both basally and laterally, posterolateral projections pale; under surface rather unifrom light brown, darker on segments 8-10; tails buff, with tree to five prominent bands.
Subimago: Body brownish-olive; legs and tails olive; wings smokey-gray.
Imago: Length, 79 mm. Males and females similar in coloration. Eyes male deep orange, face pale; thorax reddish brown above and below, the sides yellowish-brown; legs pale amber to smoky-whie, fore femora nd tibiae olive-brown; wings hyaline, the long veins amber, the cross-viens nealy colorless, the stigmatic area of fore wing clouded with dilute white; abdomen reddish-brown above, with faint trace of nymphal color pattern, dilute yellowish-brown beneath; tails nearly white, somewhat smoky basally, narrowly ringed with brown at joinings.
Habitat: Nymphs inhabit gravel-bottomed streams of almost any size, and seem to prefer swift current.
Emergence: May 3-July 20.
Perhaps the commonest and most widely distributed species of the genus in Michigan trout streams. Peak emergence occurs in late May and early June.
Ephemerella rotunda Morgan
Nymph: Length, 8-10 mm. Ground color light yellowish-brown; body and femora thickly stippled with dark brown, the spots sometimes fusing to form irregular patches; tibiae and tarsi cross-banded; abdominal segment 5 largely pale above, with broad mesal stripe, 6 pale, with diffuse dark markings on front and rear margins at midline, 10 largely pale, with dar apical dot on mid-line;tails yellowish, with (usually) five dark-brown bands.
Subimago: Very similar to that of E. invaria.
Imago: Length, 79 mm. Males and females similar in coloration but abdomen dorsally about same color as thorax. Head and thorax of male pale yellowish-brown, the mesonotum often approaching flesh-color; femora and fore tibiae yellowish-brown, remainder of legs whitish; wings hyaline, the long-veins pale amber, cross-veins colorless, and stigmatic area of fore wing washed with dilute white; abdomen reddish brown above, slightly darker thatn thorax, segments 9-10 yellow; under surface pale yellowish-white; tails nearly white, narrowly banded with purplish-brown at joinings.
Habitat: Nymphs are found in the same sites as those of E. invaria.
Emergence: May 17-June 12.
Nymphs and adults of E. rotunda closely resemble those of E. invaria.
According to Traver (1935), the nymph is larger than in E. subvaria, but
in our material both nymphs and adults are intermediate in size between
invaria and subvaria. In E. rotunda nymphs, the tubercles on the rear margins
of the abdominal segments above are very small, but still clearly discernible.
In the male imago the eyes are a more vivid yellow than those of E. invaria.
Basic Ephemerella nymph tied by Harrops.
Fished deep prior to the hatch nymphs will alway produce. But catch a natural,
put it up against your tied one and you have to notice major discrepencies.
It can't be called fishing exact imitation by any stretch of the imagination.
But if you're a serious angler, you have to ask yourself, what would work
better.
Some notes on color:
A. Whatever color is being fished under water is dependent on the background.
Let's say that again. Whatever color is being fished under water is dependent
on th background. This, of course, is viewing it from underwater. Taking
the basic Ephemerella nymph show here, viewing it with a fish's eye view
against a bright blue sky, will appear blueish. Against a cloudy sky, will
be greysih. Against a leafy forest streamline, greenish. This is why colors
that look like there should be no hope, work well and vise versa.
B. The color you start with dry, is not the same color when wet. So until
there is some wet compensation factors that are standardized, don't go crazy
trying to get that "exact" color.
`In most rivers, these Ephemerella nymphs have medium to dark brown tops and amber bottoms. If they are crawling on a rock they look dark brown, a la the rotunda shown above. Flip 'em over and they are definitely amber.
Nymphs will aways work, and many experience fly anglers feel that presentation is the critical factor in nymphing. The leeway in color, style and size for a takeable drift seems sizable.
Emergers
The hardest stage to get right. Certainly the area that separates the intermediates from the experts. And even the experts aren't consistent when the trout are targeting in this zone. This is a large zone, from the bottom till it's a dun. The many looks the emerger can have during this time, the emerger's action, and the stream's zone, make it difficult for the angler to be sure exactly what is triggering the takes.
Emerger with an antron yarn trailing shuck.
Tied by Al Troth. The body can be of any dubbing material, and can be varied in color from tan to a strong orange cast. Antron shuck white, brown, rust. The winging is where you can be creative. Al, uses hair wing. You can try normal full hackle, clipped-v hackle, no hackle, cdc, hackle point wings, cut hackle synthetic wings or various combinations of these. When you encounter these on the stream, they seem to be either completely on the surface, in the surface film, or completely sub-surface.
Expanded Wing Case Emerger.
Here's a style that allows great experimentation and developement. This
is a commercial sample tied by the Harrops. Kapok wing case. Dry fly fine
wire hook plainly used for a full floating fly. But Vince Marinaro expounded
that at this stage the nymph is fighting to brake through the surface film
and is much more likely to be vertical than horizontal, and is just below
the surface film rather than in it. Vince and others use heavy wet fly hooks
along with water adsorbing dubbing to sink the hook and to get it vertical,
and heavy dry fly hackling to float the eye. Going to the trouble of tying
this style of fly you want to make sure the eye floats. Styrofoam in nylon
stocking, trimmed foam, cdc applied in various styles. This is an interesting
concept and in usgae seems to either be extremely effective or no difference
versus the standard horizontal floater. Any serious flyfisher should have
acouple of verticals in his box to try in those desparation "fly box
symphony" times.
Cut Quill Wing Case Emerger.
Effective when fish dry, though low silouette makes visability difficult
at times and even more effective sub-surface. This example tied by Harrops.
Proportion very critical to give the effect of emerging. Note the splayed
tails to assist stability when using dry.
Marabou Shuck Emerger.
Use dry or just below surface. Tied by Harrops. Body type is open to a variety
of styles though this one is a plain dubbed body with afew hackle barbs
imitating legs which also provide stability when used dry. This particular
style is "all or none" it that when you get one fish on it, it's
likely you'll get quite afew more. On the other hand, there are days with
a heavy emergence and it won't touch anything.
Quill Wing Emerger. Tied
by Harrops. Here the wings are defined but not fully extended from the wing
case. Effective dry and sub-surface. Note the use of dubbing forward of
the wings to accentuate the wing case. Not simple to get the proportions
right and it'll take some practice but certainly worthwhile to have afew
in your fly box.
Parachute Marabou Shuck Emerger.
This one has alittle of everything, but it can be deadly at times. Apply
to difficult emerging conditions such as cold weather, wind, or rain. This
Harrop tied uses hen wings and a quill biot body but not only can the materials
be subsituted by the style of the tie.
Floating Nymph tied
by Doug Swisher. This style was highly publicised in the Swisher, Richards
books, Selective Trout and Tying the Swisher/Richards Flies. This one is
the classic fur ball built up wing case. Other materials are used to improve
the floatability desired. Styrofoam pieces encased in nylon mesh will give
excellent results. The amount of floatability can control the nymph angle
in the water. Vince Marinaro felt the best angle should be 90 degrees to
the surface.
Emerger tied
by Doug Swisher. From Tying the Swisher/Richards Flies "The emerging
pattern is probably the most versatile hatch-matcher of all. If we were
confined to select one pattern, and one pattern only, to catch the maximum
number of fish during hatch situations, that pattern would undoubtedly be
an emerger type. Tied on heavy wire, it is effective fished deep along the
bottom both during 'dead' periods and just prior to the hatch. On medium
wire, it can be fished slightly subsurface or in the film. Emergers dressed
on extra fine wire and rubbed with floatant, can sometimes be used throughout
the entire hatch right on top. We often use the emerging pattern to solve
many of the difficult stream problems that we encounter. It could easily
be called a 'wet' dry fly or a 'dry' wet fly. Whatever you call it the emerger
is really versatile."
Sidewinder Emerger tied by Doug Swisher.
The difference between the Sidewinder Emerger and a Sidewinder is the wings.
The Sidewinder Emerger has shorter, softer wings, set at 15 -25 degrees
to the body. Effective is slower water fished in the surface film.
Ephemerella dorothea, invaria and rotunda received the nickname "Sulphurs" because of their distinctive sulphur dun coloration. In many circumstances, the dun coloration at emergence is a distinct orange cast, especially in the thorax. Central PA limestoners are noted for this coloration.
Experience shows that the only way to know the exact coloration is capture one or two of these newly hatched duns. Entomologist advise that color is based upon the purity, mineral content of the water. In NY we find that this orange cast varies from year to year, on each river.
Yellow Olive Body Comparadun.
Upper left graphic is a FlyMayor. If it is not showing the tying sequense, hit the reload graphic button.
This is the name given to the Ephemerella Dorothea dun Comparadun imitation by Caucci-Nastasi. It is an excellent all around imitation for the sulphur dun. Yellow brown ComparaNymph and Yellow brown body Comparaspinner are their nymph and spinner imitation respectively.
Variant Style.
When wind and conditions blow emerging duns, variant sulphurs skated can
provide surprising results. Keep acouple in your box for those occasions.
CDC Winged Sulphur.
Standard style sulphur tie except a clump of CDC is used as wing. In use,
when wet the CDC tends to mat, and the fly will sit lower in the water than
other dry style ties. This property makes this tie more effective during
emergence periods, versus full dun activity.
Parachute Hackle, Dun Hen Wings Sulphur.
For general dun conditions, many prefer parachute tie. Highly visable and
good floating qualities. In low visability situations, lighter colored and
longer wings are a distinct advantage.
Quad Sulphur.
A parachure variant designed by Roman Scharabun. Turkey wings for visability. Antron tail for trailing shuck. Excellent floatation allows heavy water usage. Because of the amount of materials and detailed tying proceedure it is difficult to tie and use this style for flat water presentation.
Hackle Point Sulphurs
As pretty a dry style dorothea as there is. With the hackle points, you get the visual coloration of the natural. There is always debate of what color the hackle should be: light dun, cream, honey to ginger, or even orange. This style is particularly adoptable to cutting out the lower third of the hackle as advocated by writings of Charles Fox and Vince Maranaro, allowing for flush floating of the newly hatched dun.
Upper right graphic is a FlyMayor. If it is not showing the tying sequense, hit the reload graphic button.
No hackle, Sidewinder Dun tied by Carl Richards.
For the calm water, special selective fish this style offers a delicate
silhouette and good floating capabilities. It is quite fragile.
Ken Iwamasa Burnt Wing Sulphur Dun.
Ken has been the champion of burnt wing patterns and has developed this style to fit specific situations. From Ken Iwamasa's Iwamasa Flies "This pattern is designed to be most effective in calm, glassy sections of rivers, and inherent in its design is its ability to closely match the color and shape of most adult mayflies.But the most important design factor to comment on is that this pattern must be balanced, right and left side, to help assure an upright floating position. This, combined with a slow slakline cast, will allow the fly to alight on the water and float in a properly cocked position."
Hair Wing Sulphur
Spinners
The main factors in spinner is the winging material. The 3 major schools are hackle fibers, poly and feathers.
Hackle fibers can be used in a multitude of ways. Wrap the hackle as a normal dry fly. Cut out large V's in the top and bottom. Or, clump the hackle to the sides and figure 8 'em. Or, a technique put forward in Chauncy Lively's Flybox, that is extremely effective, quick, and provides an excellent silhouette: "mention should be made of the somewhat unorthodox method of fashioning the wings. Two bunches of long hackle barbules are placed together, the butts of one bunch alongside the tips of the other, to form a single bundle of uniform density from end to end. Then the bundle is bound at its middle to the hook shank, in the spent position, with figure eight turns of thread. Next, both ends of the barbules are trimmed, leaving a spent wing of appropriate size extending out each side. The thread is then brought up through the wing fibres on the tyer's side, over the shank and down through the fibres on the far side. This helps to spread the barbs. Then a circular, lateral turn of thread is made under the base of the far wing, over the shank in front of the wings, under the base of the near wing and over the shank in back of the wings. The last maneuver flattens the wings and is repeated with fur-dubbed thread when the thorax is formed."
Poly fibers have one major advantage over natural fibers: sparkle. Easy to work with. Quick to tie.
Feathers are the toughest to define. Quick to tie and easy to work with. But as feathers, either hackle points or hen wings the tendency of feathers to mat when wet is always there.
Body material is usually based upon floatibility. As spinners are riding in the film, floatibility for spinners is more related to long usage. Can it take 3 or 4 fish without extreme treatment?
Spinner rises are trout fishing at it's best. The fly pattern style isn't as critical as the above circumstances, unless the targets have been heavily fished over and released. Spotting the rises and presentation are the essence of dorothea spinner angling.
Poly Wing Spinner
Biot body, dubbing thorax, turkey wings.
Note the heavinest and lack of transparency of the turkey wings.
Doug Swisher hen wing dorothea spinner.
Note split tails, which help in positioning, allowing the classic spread wing float. But if you study a batch of spinners on the water, only about 50% have the classic spread wings. Others will be cocked one way or another, some with wings together and some with one wing in the air, above the water surface.
Another spinner tie which has become popular lately, is loop wings. Those who believe in this style are fanatical in it's usage. Those against are equally opposite to them.
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