BWO's this late on marginal stream

[JeffP]

I got out for about an hour yesterday and fished a local stocker stream with a surprising amount of natives. This stream also has has a lot of bass and sunnies in it. I got there around 4 and the hatch was on. Of course I had a thick leader on and a bugger. I never thought I'd be fishing dries this late but managed to blow the next 15 minutes trying to tie on something small and by this time the rising had stopped. I did manage about a 10 inch native on a bugger farther upstream that was so skinny I thought I had a pickeral. Any way, by the time I get back downstream the fish are rising again but it was to late so I went home. Of course my wife's working a 14 today and I have the 3 boys at home or I'd love to try to get back there about 3. Anyway, my question was about how good water quality is needed for late season BWO's. I'm almost positive this is what they were. It surprised me that this late in the season they were still hatching. If we had a typical fall it would by really cold by this time. Would they still be hatching this late? Any thoughts? Jeff

 

[Padraic]

JeffP,

BWO's will hatch all through the winter. The rule of thumb for late Jan/Feb is that stoneflies are active on the sunny days, BWO's when it's overcast. Midges are active through the winter also. So you can catch trout on dries all year... but winter is NOT the most productive time!

 

[dryflyguy]

BWO's are one of the most common mayflies - I've seen them on almost every decent trout stream, and caught fish on them during every month of the year.
So, yes, they're probably what you saw yesterday. They're a size #20, and usually hatch now between noon and 4pm.

 

[Chaz]

I caught 2 brookies the other day on BWO's. They do hatch all winter, but the best days are usually overcast. There are many different species throughout the year, so they vary in size and color but through the winter they are usually a # 20 and very pale, almost cream in color.