Chasing Salmonflies Up North

[Bob Laskodi]

Every year we head out in mid-May to search for the elusive salmonfly hatch on some of our favorite NorCal waters. Hitting the hatch is a lot like winning the lottery, you gotta play to win, but you end up losing more times than winning! We came pretty close to hitting it this year, but I think last week would have been prime time. For those of you that don't know about salmonflies, they are this huge bug that fish just go bonkers over, and it just might be your best shot at getting a big one on the dry. We fished three waters that feature good salmonfly hatches with some good results on dries, but many times nymph fishing was the ticket instead. Of interest, the golden stoneflies were also out in force, and on some waters the goldens actually outnumbered the salmonflies. Of really big interest, while we started out fishing huge salmonfly dry patterns (#4 Mercers Flushfloater Stone Salmonfly) to match the hatch, while we were able to elicit plenty of rises, our hookup ratio was dismal. So we switched over to smaller golden stone patterns and got about the same amount of rises, but our hookup percentage went way up. Kaufmann's Foamulator #8 in yellow was the ticket to consistent rises and consistent hookups.
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Warning: mature adult content follows
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The only thing that would make this shot better is if the bug would have landed on the Orvis label, right good DR?
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With this back drop as scenery, do you really care that you pulled out nine rainbows from this spot all on dries?
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[easymends]

Great report. Its funny how the hatch is so different in certain states. In Oregon, they just started coming out and it usually hits its peak the second week of June weather depending. It seems to come so much earlier in Norcal.

In any state, when the weather is just right and the trout are hungry its a tough hatch to beat.

[jigger]

Really enjoyed the report. Great pics, awesome quality, size and scenery. Thanks for taking the time to put em up.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks Bob....................another first class post.

[double ipa]

Thankyou for the great pictures. Excellent photography.

[gilligan]

I was in that same spot nearly twenty years ago with my good friend Chris. We cut school to go fish Hat Creek. After getting are you know what handed to us we went back to camp and fished the creek. Lucky for us we had a few Salmonflies in our boxes because it was, and still is, one of the best evenings I can remember fly fishing. I have never hit a Salmonfly hatch since, but will always remember that one. Awesome post, great photos.

www.gilligansguideservice.com

[Flycanoe]

Wow, awesome stuff. Thanks for sharing.

[Craig Nielsen]

Bob:
Great report and awesome pics. Good to see you made it up this way to fish and chase the ellusive BIG BUG. We've been getting a few fish on Salmonfly and Goldenstone dries for the past few weeks but I don't believe we've seen the bulk of the hatches on most local rivers yet.
The Upper Sac since the spill has had very small numbers of Salmonflies, probably not fishable numbers but we've already seen more than we can remember in any season already this year! Hat Creek, the McCloud and particularly the Klamath (were the hatch is HUGE) have not yet seen the typical number of bugs we get during the peak.
While the Goldenstone bite usually lasts longer (in some years into July) and is more reliable, the Salmonflies often provide more epic days. I've also discovered that the bite lingers and the catching can be better after the peak of the hatch as the fish have become accustomed to the big bites and get aggressive with fewer BUGs and fewer opportunities.
I've not yet tried Kaufmann's Foamulator, I'll give it a go this season for sure! Thanks for the tip.
Drop a line next time you are up this way it would be a joy to see you and fish with you again!

[Big Jim]

craig.

what section of the K is best for salmonflies?

Thanks.

Jim

[Craig Nielsen]

Jim:
I guide and fish the Klamath near I5 most frequently as it is closest to my home. I've caught fish on Salmonflies and had some very good days as far downstream as China Point, but it has been a few years since I've been down river during the hatch. The hatch seems to start sooner downstream and progress upstream. I'll be returning to the Klamath tomorrow and plan to post a report on the ShastaTrout (http://www.shastatrout.com/blog/) website, probably on Thursday when I'll have a day off.
PS sorry to take a bit to respond, I've been on the McCloud unplugged for a few days.