Hatches & Tips

With an eye toward angling success, Nutmeg TU shares with members and other anglers tips on matching the hatch.

Orvis Fly Casting Videos

Orvis Fly Casting Videos

Click the image above to view a list of 17 fly casting videos, courtesy of Orvis.

Major Hatches in Connecticut Streams*

NAME
Size
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Notes
Caddisflies/Sedges
Winter Caddis
(Dolophilodes distinctus)
20-24
  Farmington hatch, Nov-Apr morning.
Black Caddis
(Brachycentrus)
Other similar species:
_Psilotreta: 14-16
_Glossosoma: 20-22
_Micrasema: 20-22
16-18
Important hatches. Use black/dark dun fly & match
size. Emergers often work best.
Green C./Rock-Worm
(Rhyacophila fuscula)
14-18
Fish imitation of larva for best results.
Alder Fly/Zebra C.
(Macrostemum zebratum)
12-14
A Housatonic staple. Fish the larva/pupa.
Cinnamon/Spotted/Tan
(Ceratopsyche, Hydropsyche)
16-20
Important. Mainly an evening hatch.
Dot-Winged/Mottled
(Frenesia)
16-18
Important. Hatches into December.
NAME
Size
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Notes
Mayflies
Blue-Winged Olive (BWO)
(Baetis tricaudatus)
16-20
Important & widespread. 3 broods.
Quill Gordon
(Epeorus pleuralis)
14
Getting to be rare; needs healthy streams.
Little Mahogany/Blue
Quill
/Paraleps
(Paraleptophlebia)
18
Early spring hatch. Use fine tippett.
Hendrickson
(Ephemerella subvaria)
12-14
Locally rare. Best hatches: Farmington, Housatonic.
March Brown/Gray
Fox
(Maccaffertium vicarium)
12-14
Not always found in local streams.
Pale Evening Dun/Sulphur
(Ephemerella rotunda)
14-16
An important hatch, peak lasts 2 weeks.
Brown Drake
(Ephemera simulans)
8-12
Housatonic: important spinner fall.
(Little)
Sulphur

(Ephemerella dorothea)
16-18
An important hatch, particularly during evenings.
Large BWO
(Drunella cornuta)
14
Best 9-11 am. Medium olive dubbng.
Light Cahill
(Stenacron interpunctatum)
12-14
Dependable but not heavy hatches.
Isonychia/Mahogany
Dun

(Isonychia bicolor)
10-12
Hatches are localized and sporadic.
Trico
(Tricorythodes stygiatus)
22-26
The Farmington has a great Trico hatch.
Tiny BWO
(Acentrella turbida)
22-26
Hatches afternoons when weather is worst.
NAME
Size
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Notes
Stoneflies
Early Black Stonefly
Early Brown Stonefly
(Taeniopterygidae)
14-18
Important late winter hatch peaks in Feb & March.
Giant Black S./Stone
Creeper
/Salmonfly
(Pteronarcys)
6-8
Hatches mainly at night. Use nymphs year round.
Golden Stonefly
(Perlidae)
6-10
Sporadic May-Sept. Use nymphs year round.
(Little)
Yellow Sally

(Chloroperla, Isoperla )
14-18
Seldom numerous, often overlooked.
NAME
Size
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Notes
(Other)
Midges/Gnats
(Chironomidae)
18-32
Crucial; year round.
Damselfly
nymph
(Zygoptera)
10-14Likes warmer trout streams. Fish the nymph.
Terrestrials“,
i.e. anything that falls in (ants, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, inchworms, katydids,
leafhoppers, spiders.)
esp. 10-18Very important. At times main source
of food. Match the hatch.
Smaller Fish6-12Fish streamers (e.g. ‘Black Ghost’, ‘Gray Ghost’) and bucktails (e.g. ‘Mickey Finn’, ‘Black Nosed Dace’) year round but especially late fall – early spring, when waters are high and not much is hatching. Or try fishing large and/or weighted streamers such as zonkers, matukas and sculpins very early in the morning or right after a major storm when targeting large predatory trout.

*Amateur entomologist? Join The River’s Calendar, a community science project that aims to use recreational angler participation and innovative technology to: collect data on the phenology of stream ecosystems; increase public understanding of climate change and other environmental changes affective riparian system, and promote conservation of coldwater fisheries.

~~~

Please fish for trout only when the water temperature is ≤ 66º F – which means
tailwaters only in summer. ~ Use 
de-barbed hooks, and reel in the fish quickly,
always keeping it in the 
water and not holding it with dry hands.

cprImage and CPR brochure © Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited (www.wisconsintu.org)
CPR Brochure

©2015 Nutmeg chapter Trout Unlimited

 

Download the full Hatch Chart of CT Streams – 2012 (Excel)

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