Fall Green Drake Hatches??

[RAW]

Davis and I just got back from one of our local rivers. What a great day! Weather was pefect, water was perfect and the trout really cooperated. Hoppers!! (Make ya jealous yet?) (Thanks again, Davis, for sharing the day.)

While we were fishing a hatch came off and trout started rising fairly frequent. At first, I thought it was a caddis hatch but caught one of the bugs as it flew near me and it looked like a Green Drake. Nice plump, large mayfly. I didn't recall ever reading anything about Fall Green Drake hatches so when I got home I started to read about them. Everything seems in order except for the color? The wings were dark slate-gray and it had three tails. The body instead of ranging from bright green to pale cream or yellowish-tan seemed to be more drab olive or gray. Could this still be a Green Drake? The emergence table shows them from June 1st to July 15th.

Do any of you know if color variations occur between the different species?

Under the Family: Ephemerellidae Genus: Ephemerella, I found a listing for a Slate-winged Olive E. coloradensis. It shows a hatch time of July 1st to October 1st.

Are any of you familiar with the above mentioned mayfly? Could it be the size of a Green Drake? I'm wondering if this is what I saw coming off today?

Thanks!

[Jason B]

I have seen some Grey Drakes around some of the waters here, but i usually see them in late July.

[RAW]

Checked "Hatches II" by Caucci and Nastasi and they show coloradensis as Callibaetis which is from the baetis family. It must be a misprint in "Western Hatches" unless there is a Baetis coloradensis and an ephemerella coloradensis?

This fly could have been imitated on a size 8 or 10 dry fly hook. How big are gray drakes?

It was pretty funny. The fish were probably taking emergers with the ocassional dun. We'd chuck size 10 hoppers right into where they were rising and the trout would sip them in.

[Jason B]

some very large greys, the size you mentioned. Cool thing was you would see them in the air and you look to the nearest tree or brush to the bug and almost every time there would be a bird coming after it and grabbing it in mid air. Did you by chance get any samples?

[RAW]

No samples. No pictures. Just grabbed one out of the air and thought it was a Green Drake only gray in color.

I've been in my fly tying room making some imitations just for fun.

[Ouzel]

Sometimes known as the 'Little Western Green Drake often about a size #14-#16 dry. This time of year is about right for the mountain west.

[Jason]

A gray drake would be a good guess. I'm not sure about the Flavs, too late in the year. How about a giant freak of nature baetis hatch?

[RAW]

Ouzel. . .flavs would be too small, the body on these things was close to 1/2-inch or better.

Jason. . .It really shocked me how big they were. In all my years fishing, I have never seen a big mayfly this late in the season. I'm no entomologist, but these bugs got my blood pumping. If you have a copy of "Western Hatches" look at page 58, 3rd picture down. That is exactly what they looked like. Maybe I didn't look at the color good enough. Looked grayish, but may have been more green in there??

[Ouzel]

it may be question that needs more data.

Coloration of any insect will vary depending on the enviroment. How many different shades are the to the BWO from the Frying Pan in Colorado to the Henry's to the St. Joe in Idaho?

It may cost a few dollars in gas but it would be interesting if you could take a camera with you, or a Mike or Jason, and return to the water you were on.

Unknown Hatch? I love it.

[Jeff Camomile]

RAW,

I have a book that has a hatch chart that includes a green drake hatch in September on a Northern Utah River, although I have never heard anybody mention it and I haven't fished this river myself.

Send me a PM or email for a bit more detail, if you want.

[nimrod]

maybe a little late in responding, but sound like "Flavs" (drunella flavilinea) which are of the drake family & found on western rivers in late summer. Check out Rene Harrop's article on flyfisherman.com

[Jason]

I believe there is a descent Flav hatch on the Logan. Is that where you were fishing?

[Utah DaveII]

in Flyfishing and Fly Tying called "Lesser Green Drake hatches." In it Dave hughes talks about fishing the Logan in the fall and catching a Drake Hatch. If I remember right he even had some information on the species. I have the article at home, but it is not a very old article. Maybe fall of 2002?

BTW the article had some nice pictures of the Logan river.

[Cary]

when I lived in CV, I came across what I thought were green drakes well into late summer on the Logan. Not a lot, but enough to keep fish looking up to where a size 12 parachute adams, fished blindly in to probable lies, would draw action.

[RAW]

Jeff Camomile e-mailed me with some information. I Hope it's Okay to share. If not Jeff, sorry. I just find it interesting.

Davis and I were on the Logan. I'm pretty sure that it was a Green or Gray Drake hatch now that Jeff has given me the info he has.

Jeff gave me a reference to James Demoux's book, "Fly Fisher's Guide to Utah" which briefly mentions a Green and Gray Drake hatch on the Logan in September. The hatch chart also shows the hatch in September.

Not sure how significant a hatch this is, but enough for Mr. Demoux to mention it in his book.

It was not a blizzard hatch, just sporadic, but enough to get the fish moving on them. I think the fish were eating a lot of emergers earlier in the day. Most of the "rises" were fins and tails breaking the surface. When we were leaving is when, I noticed the head rises and adult bugs fluttering around.

Would have been interesting to hang around and see how this hatch went, but we fished for 4 1/2 hours straight, non-stop! Not bad for a couple of old men!

[tightline]

I have a picture of a huge mayfly sample from last week. They were going off pretty good. And made for a couple great hours of dry action. It looks in color and size of a giant gray drake but I am definitely no expert. It was over 3/4" long without the tail. If someone is willing to post it, I will email a close up picture I took.

Tightline

[chanceb]

I was on a small stream in Southern Idaho this weekend that also had a sporadic hatch of medium brown drakes about 3/4 inches long. So it sounds like there must a fall hatch in the Northern Utah/S. Idaho area. Probably the same bug, although the ones I saw were more of a brown than gray?