Five flies for summertime hatches

There still might be some leftover "super hatches" here and there; I remember one year when there was still major salmonfly activity well into late July on the Blackfoot. And then there was the year that green drakes, which might be done by mid-June most places, persisted until after the Fourth of July on the Bitterroot. And I don't mean occasional sightings. When I fished both of these hatches, years apart, they were the major happening on these rivers.

The "super hatches," as they're called, are usually thought of as the big #4 and #6 salmonflies that start gradually as runoff subsides. As they peak they are overlapped by the #8 and #10 golden stones that start a bit later.

These big stoneflies occur in rocky-bottomed rough water. You find them throughout the Clark Fork drainage, with major hatches in Rock Creek, the Blackfoot and upper Bitterroot.

Green drake mayflies also get called a super hatch. These #10 green mayflies start when the water temperature clears the 50-degree mark.

The green drake hatch can last for a glorious two weeks or possibly longer depending on a lot of factors that I won't delineate here. You'd all turn the page or put the paper down by the time I finished - it's dry stuff, interesting only to the entomologically-obsessed such as myself.

While anglers obsess on these big bugs and the glorious fishing they can provide when everything is right, some smaller, more plentiful and longer-lasting hatches begin to occur as the days warm and water temperatures continue to rise. They can occur with the larger one and as conditions change, can become the major attraction. And if you're prepared only to fish the super hatch, or if you're not carefully observant enough to notice when things switch, you can miss some great fishing.

I remember that day in late July when Jan and I were fishing the Blackfoot with Tony Reinhart. There were plenty of salmonflies around and we fished them through the morning in earnest. As they tapered off Tony switched us to some smaller mayflies. The salmonflies were exciting while they lasted, but we caught more fish after the switch.

The five flies - or types of flies - that I'm never without all summer are a Pale Morning Dun Parachute in #14 and #16, a little yellow stonefly pattern such as a Yellow Stimulator in #14, a tan caddisfly such as an X-Caddis in #14, a Schroeder's Parachute Hopper in #8, and a nondescript-looking black ant in #14.

For that last fly, go through the bins at the fly shop and find an ant that looks like an ant. Fish like to eat the ones that look like the last ant they ate. Imagine that.

There are plenty of pale morning dun patterns out there. If I'm fishing a solid PMD hatch I want several different types in my flybox, including cripples or surface emergers and comparaduns. The one I'll never be without is a Pale Morning Dun Parachute - and at that, there are several different types and subtypes out there. On any given day one might be the best one, but they'll all take fish.

Careful approach, long, light tippet, easy and accurate cast to drift the fly into the fish. Make sure all of those factors are dialed in before you start changing flies.

The important thing with PMDs or any other is to get the fly in front of the fish so he thinks it's dinner.

The little yellow stoneflies, often called yellow Sallies, are built the same as salmonflies or golden stones but smaller. Randall Kaufmann's original Stimulator pattern is both skinny and buggy-looking.

Little yellow stoneflies have two pairs of crystal-clear white wings that can be seen clearly in flight. When you see them and trout are taking them, switch to a Stimulator or similar pattern.

Caddisflies look like moths in flight and while you'll see them just about any time of day, they can cause feeding frenzies at dusk. My favorite caddis patterns, the Caddis Variants, are not commercially available. If you tie your own, they're worth your time. If not, Craig Mathews' X-Caddis and the standard Elk Hair Caddis patterns in #14 both work.

And terrestrials? Hoppers are pretty obvious, and because they can be blown into the water just about any time, they are important trout food.

And when in doubt, fish an ant.