?Black Quill?

[paparise]

This guy landed on my vest on Pickering Creek, Chester Co. yesterday. I nievely thought it was a BWO only because of the time of year. Foxgap suggested it might be a Black Quill but seemed surprised that it would be around this early.

Any takers?

 

[sandfly]

That's him alrighty..about a week early for you southern people..

 

[flyers18]

Don't wanna be stepping on anyones toes here but Leptophlebia cupida which is the latin name for the black quill normally hatches in early may. So I wouldn't be positive its a black quill sandfly. I would actually like to see more of a close up of the pic. Not sure what it is but the wings and body seem a little dark from pics I have seen of black quills. The black quills usually start when the grannoms are just finishing up on penns. Penns is the only stream where I have run into black quills and the duns are more chocolate brown then actually black.

 

[flyers18]

Also that fly seems to only have 2 tails and black quills have 3

 

[sandfly]

sent the pic to a friend for exact taxonomy.
I will go with:
Species Leptophlebia nebulosa These are sometimes called Early Black Quills.

 

[allegheny]

Is the black quill a fishable hatch? I can't recall seeing an emergence. A few times, I've seen the spinners over the road paralleling a stream, but never on the stream.

 

[paparise]

It definitely had two tails and it's as dark as it looks in the photo, black body, black wings.

 

[sandfly]

I have fished that fly hatch for years around the lehigh valley. It's not a major hatch per say, but where it does occur the trout feed on them. I'm thinking its a sub species of the quill gordon. We always called it black quill and it has always come off around the 1st. week of April or later. Loum and myself fished it one year on the bushkill above Easton and it was a decent hatch..

 

[pcray1231]

Sandfly, Leptophlebia has 3 tails. Just sayin.

 

[sandfly]

Pat I know that, was a best guess at the time. After lots of looking and talking to a few people and without better pics, its a ( Iron Fraudator). Dark Gordon Quill.
Quill Gordon is ( Epeorus Pleuris) and lighter in color.
Locally called Black quill in certain areas. Not a large hatch in most areas. Found more in the Catskills and north. It is an early season hatch usually hatching in late April before Quill gordon. I have fished it on the upper reaches of the Buskill in Easton and on the Henryville section of the Broadheads.. have not seen it here as of yet..I think it is very localized in Pa. Schreibert showed it to me on the henryville and flick talks about it in his book.

 

[Chaz]

Amelitis?

 

[Shock]

I remember that hatch when I was a kid. My mentor tied his flies with a porcupine quill body.

When I was 15 or 16, a decent hatch came off on 1st day when we were fishing Bald Eagle Creek where it runs through the town of Port Matilda, just West of State College. That afternoon was the best first day I had as a kid. I was tickled to be catching trout on dry flies.

That day the fish were really keying on the dries and it seemed like I was catching one after another, releasing them, and getting ribbed by the people who were trying to fill their stringers.

Still makes me smile,

Shock