Describe your best hatch experience

robson3954 · #1 03-09-2016, 03:16 PM

As stated simple enough.

I have two:
Raven in June. Overcast day, not too warm. Started, saw a few bugs out, caddis, green drake and a golden or two. Has hopes of catching something on one of those patterns, but nothing. Then after an hour or so in, I noticed a few goldens float by. Looked upstream, then down. At any given time there was at least 2 dozen in the air, returning to the river. Still took another 30mins for the trout to clue in, then when a large brown did a big sloppy rise right next to me, I knew it was game on. Caught a good number of good browns for the next 40mins. It died off as quickly as it started. I'll remember it not so much for the fish, but because I've never seen so many big bugs.

No. 2
Little Red in May. Caught a march? brown hatch(don't know if they're true march browns, but large tan mayflies that consistently come off in May in that area.) Beautiful warm, sunny day. Caught fish at almost every likely lie/structure.

I'd love to catch an epic salmonfly hatch.... someday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOAjnwM2nzA

rycoma · #2 03-09-2016, 05:57 PM

Dog pound creek. Warm summer day late July if I remember correctly. Notice an abundance of large blue and black dragon/damsel flies. A few here and there spent on the water still twitching. I know that I dont carry a pattern that big, I decide to use an ugly tied hopper pattern. I get to a run that I have caught trout before. A cast with a perfect drift and bam a 16 inch brown. So full of dragon flies that there are tails and wings hanging out of his mouth. His belly so distended from bugs made me wonder why he still tried to eat. Wasn't a super succsesful outing but an eye opener to the importance of fly placement vrs pattern/color selection.

FlyTheory · #3 03-09-2016, 06:25 PM

Mouse hatch and whitefish hatch last year south of GP. Bulls and grayling were going insane! Lots of hiking, but worth the trip for sure.
Ps I know it's not a true hatch, but boy oh boy.

Yaha Tinda · #4 03-09-2016, 11:40 PM

North Ram back in tge eighties, had to be tens of thousands or more drifting downstream over the creek.

mikebossy · #5 03-10-2016, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyTheory

Mouse hatch and whitefish hatch last year south of GP. Bulls and grayling were going insane! Lots of hiking, but worth the trip for sure.
Ps I know it's not a true hatch, but boy oh boy.

Now that would be something to see, mice hatching like the flying monkeys in wizard of oz, lol, how many mice did you see?

bessiedog · #6 03-10-2016, 02:30 PM

Twice in my life.

It is indescribable how easy the fishing is AND how big the fish are in that river.

I did a brief stint guiding and got my clients on the hatch once.....
They were Americans.... They soooo took it for granted and didn't appreciate it...
I just about tore all my hair out that week.

It is fishing heavAn!

Cowtown guy · #7 03-10-2016, 04:50 PM

I've caught the salmonfly hatch on the Crow once. Also got on 2 very, very good golden hatches there also.
I have also had a stellar few days on the Bow during the stonefly hatches. We brought 40 some fish to the net the one day with many more long line releases and a scary amount of missed eats. That day there was the "Triple double". Double header on Browns, Rainbows and a Rainbow Brown double header.

Bhflyfisher · #8 03-10-2016, 05:06 PM

Stonefly hatch on the bow is quite ridiculous. I've hit it head on once. I will be fishing it a lot this year.

FlyTheory · #9 03-10-2016, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikebossy

Now that would be something to see, mice hatching like the flying monkeys in wizard of oz, lol, how many mice did you see?

Ran into a few nests where their eggs were! Sad to say my buddy (guy pictured) stomped on them, he hates rodents. But the hatch was of the pale evening vole. Here's a photo of one of the fish taken for proof (caught on a "Count Chockula"):

Cheers

rycoma · #10 03-10-2016, 05:48 PM

Wait what? Eggs? Rodents? Did I miss something. Well I would have stomped me some egg laying rodents too. Nice fish anyhow

FlyTheory · #11 03-10-2016, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rycoma

Wait what? Eggs? Rodents? Did I miss something. Well I would have stomped me some egg laying rodents too. Nice fish anyhow

Yeah man, mice lay eggs. Didn't you know

okay full disclosure; there was no magical mouse hatch, but that's what they were keying in on since there was a bunch of grass in the area. Caught quite a few bulls on mice that day. But Bulls are so aggressive they'll hit anything!

robson3954 · #12 03-10-2016, 06:43 PM

Speaking of mice:
http://venturingangler.com/2015/07/2...ouse-patterns/

“Catching cutthroat on a mouse is the equivalent of catching a wild unicorn while it is jumping over a rainbow"

32-40win · #13 03-11-2016, 01:26 AM

Sedge hatches at a few lakes in BC. One combo sedge/damsel hatch in BC.
Hit one really good damsel hatch at Dickson one day, another one at a small lake in BC. Hit the odd good chironomid hatch at various places over the years. Hard to pick one in particular. Biggest fish I've had were not during hatches, at least, not visible ones..

2alarmfishing · #14 03-11-2016, 07:46 AM

Adult midge emergence on Muir. I had five fish feeding all within my casting radius. Caught them all as well as many others. It lasted three hours.

Lornce · #15 03-12-2016, 08:07 AM

Spoonchucker · #16 03-12-2016, 02:14 PM

I hit the hex hatch several times in s. ON as a teen. If you hang out on the river often enough, good things will happen. Gotta love those square tails slapping the surface.

Xiph0id · #17 03-13-2016, 09:31 AM

On the Ram on evening.
Caught about 100 Rockies in an 3 hours.
Even once it was dark, then it was feel fishing.

I dont know all the bugs, it was tiny little white things.
Flying and dipping on the water. Loud.

Peace Country · #18 03-13-2016, 03:58 PM

May fly hatch at Aylmer Lake Lodge, NWT last Sunmmer. Check out this video of lake trout gulping May Flies on the surface.

Check out “Season 6 Trailer” by Maximum Limit Productions on Vimeo.

The video is available for your viewing pleasure at https://vimeo.com/133248642

If you like this video, make sure you share it, too!

thumper · #19 03-13-2016, 10:17 PM

Caddis on the Columbia near Castlegar - twice. Hatches so thick it was like trying to see through a snowstorm. Little buggers crawling all over you, exploring every nook & cranny - and big rainbows slurping caddis soup.

Moefoe · #20 03-14-2016, 11:33 AM

Crane Fly hatch on the Crowsnest, early July, many years ago! From the section I was fishing too the next bend up stream was 150 yards or so, at any given time there would be a dozen or so fish flying out of the water it was insane! Lasted about an hour and I got skunked during that time...pretty cool though!

yetiseeker · #21 03-14-2016, 12:51 PM

One hatch I will always remember - backswimmers landing on the water in late September.

Prior to that hatch, I couldn't have imagined that backswimmers could even fly. They were flying in from somewhere, and when they hit the water, they would start swimming, and within a foot or two - wham! The rainbows fed on them for 3 hours straight.

I tied on a black colored Elk Hare Caddis, made sure the fly plopped down on the water hard, and within a two or three strips, had a rainbow on almost every cast for 2 hours straight. Took me half an hour to clue in to what they were feeding on, then another half hour to catch one of the hatches to match my fly.

After that, I've never experienced it again. I will remember it forever though.

Chirka · #22 03-14-2016, 06:53 PM

On the Red Deer river by smashed in buffalo jump.

Fishing in the evening, was super slow and the sun was going down.
Then all of a sudden the sun went behind the ridge and the water honestly looked like it was boiling. First and only time i've ever experienced that.
Couldn't get my hook in the water fast enough.

DiabeticKripple · #23 03-14-2016, 06:59 PM

Bow river caddis hatch in May. Caught a dozen or so rainbows, and a big 23" brown.

jgib01 · #24 03-17-2016, 03:12 PM

One of the coolest hatches I've seen was before I was fly fishing. The family and I were walking along the Oldman in Lethbridge a couple of summers ago (just when I was considering taking up the sport), and there was a hatch of white mayflies that was simply incredible. They were there by the tens of thousands... at first I thought it was cottonwood, until we got closer to the water's edge. In addition to the swarm in the air, there was a constant flow of spent spinners flowing along the surface. I stood and watched them for about 10 minutes, but didn't see a single fish rise; that stretch of river is scant in trout I believe. Now that I'm actually giving this fly fishing thing a whirl, I think I need to go back and take note of the date... think we have some pictures somewhere. Seeing that hatch was likely the push I needed to finally buy my first fly rod. I thought that was what I would see every day on the water... ignorance is bliss.

BBT · #25 03-17-2016, 03:36 PM

I've seen my share. From the salmonfly hatch on the Crow to Drake hatches on the N Raven and N Ram, caddis on the Bow and on and on. But nothing will top the blanket hatch I witnessed last year on the Missouri in April. It started out pretty awesome but a couple hours in your fly was just one of millions the fish had to choose from.

Speckle55 · #26 03-17-2016, 06:33 PM

Talbot Lake , Jasper National Park

Damsel fly hatch and sedges

and the Lake Whitefish feasting on the Hatch

David