Is this something that has changed since the old days when these waters became famous or has it always been the same, and those guys just worked extra hard at the dry fly game?
I have never fished the cumberland valley but it is on my radar to get there soon. I love to nymph and stealth fish and am no stranger to fishing 8 hours and going home with little to no catching of actual fish so it sounds right up my alley.
I've fished the Letort a WHOLE lot more than Big Springs however in the decades I fished there most often the only hatches I experienced with any regularity were Sulphurs and BWO's and the same goes for Green Springs which was another haunt.
I could also reliably find Tricos on the Letort in the FFO area in one or two "secret spots" I discovered (don't ask
). However, I'm talking about a VERY sparse Trico emergence in a small area which despite always yielding me several fish, they were always small.
Of course there was also a good Trico hatch on Falling Springs.
I haven't visited those Letort Trico spots in a long time or even Falling Springs at Trico time so I have no idea if the mini hatch still happens at the upper Letort or with regularity & intensity at Falling Springs. I also haven't fished the Letort for Sulphurs in a long time...
That being said I can offer some clarification and information...
NONE of the hatches I've experienced with the exception of Tricos on Falling Springs back in the 1980's/1990's was intense. The Sulphurs were a close second but in certain spots, not everywhere. The BWO's that I loved to fish in early spring and late fall were almost as sporadic as the Tricos on the upper Letort.
However, for the most part even when there weren't hatches happening, I was still catching the majority of my fish on the surface because I have the patience of a saint when it comes to fishing the Letort or Big Springs...
IMHO - I believe that patience is the most important attribute you need for success.
I literally sit down and park my a$$ on the bank, light a cigar and WAIT until I see a riser. If nothing happens after a decent amount of time, I move up to another spot and do the same thing versus walking up and down the stream looking for risers.
This waiting game isn't for everybody as evidenced by having anglers walk past me two or more times hunting for risers and getting skunked. They are usually shocked to see me in the same spot or nearby and even more shocked when I tell them I caught a few fish.
Bottom line, if this S-L-O-W-E-D down approach would drive you nuts, expect the Letort & Big Springs to drive you nuts too!!
One other thing, Big Springs is 1000% easier to fish than the Letort since all of the stream improvement work was done several years ago. It is very easy to walk along most of its length and access the stream almost anywhere.
For that reason it gets a LOT more pressure than the Letort and it a lot harder to do the waiting game thing because there are always folks coming up behind you or ahead of you. Regardless, even if you get skunked you can have a fun day learning how to approach the challenge.
However the Letort is physically a PIA to fish, especially in the last 20 years so IF you get skunked on top of that it's like surviving a plane crash and finding out when you get back to the airport that your car was towed...
Good luck when you finally give it a go!!