Giant Dobsonfly?

[mkerr]

I was at my camp on the South Branch of the Potomac over the 4th for some smallies and the place was covered in dobson flies. I had a friend and his family there for the weekend. We took the two young boys to a riffle and kicked around with a seine net and caught dozen hellgarmmites. That river is loaded with them!

 

[RLeep2]

Years (and years...) ago when I worked in a fly shop on the edge of the ANF, we had a contingent of hard core Allegheny-below-the-dam trout guys from Warren who would come into the shop on a regular basis. They, for some reason, all seemed to prefer the water below the Conewango junction and on down through behind Betts Park to the upper section between the dam and the Glade Ave. Bridge.

From time to time, they would come in all breathless and hair afire talking about trout the size of ball bats eating adult Dobson flies after dark in the river behind Betts Park.

I never knew if they were telling me the truth or if it was actually big stoneflies they were seeing or if they had simply all been drinking to excess for an extended period.

Has anybody ever actually seen a trout (or any fish for that matter..) trying to eat an adult Dobson fly? I haven't, but I suppose it could be possible...

 

[Millsertime]

We use to hand catch "pinchers" on the Susky banks near Falls, PA. We threaded the "pincher" on a hook, casted it, let it submerge, and caught bass after bass.

Never seen a fish take one on the water surface though.

 

[Troy]

Here is a link to a hellgrammite story I posted on here a while ago. I never seen anything like it since and never hope to. Nasty creatures.

http://www.paflyfish.com/modules/xforum/viewtopic.php?topic_id=7870&forum=2&post_id=82850#forumpost82850

 

[FarmerDave]

RLeep2 wrote:

Has anybody ever actually seen a trout (or any fish for that matter..) trying to eat an adult Dobson fly? I haven't, but I suppose it could be possible...

I can't say that I have, but why wouldn't they?

The real question would be, who in their right mind would fish during a Dobsonfly hatch?! I'd imagine it wouldn't be crowded, but I'm not that desperate. Besides, it might be hard casting a fly rod while I'm wearing my bee keeper's suit.

 

[Bamboozle]

wgmiller wrote:
That's a female and they do bite. The male's pincers are so long they can't exert enough force to break the skin. They'll both give off a stinky anal spray if threatened, so beware!

That's funny, I also give off a stinky anal spray when threatened...;-)

RLeep2 wrote:
Has anybody ever actually seen a trout (or any fish for that matter..) trying to eat an adult Dobson fly? I haven't, but I suppose it could be possible...

I never saw a fish take a Dobson Fly, but I have seen Dobson Flies take a fly. Amazing mid-air captures with the wings of the defunct White Fly fluttering down to the water.

While not an adult Dobson Fly, I had a female Mallard following me around one day on the Delaware near Martins Creek when I was fishing for shad.

I started looking for something edible to throw her way and uncovered about a 3"+ hellgramite. I tossed it at her and she gobbled it down.

It freaked me out because the thing was huge and all I thought about was those pincers.

 

[henrydavid]

From what I understand the one sex has pinchers, not sure which. I fish the Susky at night all the time and always see them. It seems as though they are looking for something to hang on to. A couple years ago I had one attached to my face, it was not a happy experience.

 

[RLeep2]

>>The real question would be, who in their right mind would fish during a Dobsonfly hatch?!>>

Well, this is one of the reasons I suggested that these guys may been drinking to excess for an extended period of time..


Bamboozle: It doesn't surprise be that a Mallard wouldn't hesitate to down a hellgrammite. They're birds and are probably the evolutionary progeny of some sort of lizard. We had a friend whose wee bitty Taco Bell-type dog was seized by a Great Horned Owl and eviscerated in mid air.

Birds are nasty...

 

[melvinp]

Have been using hellgrammites for years for bait but have never caught anything on them once they turn yellow and or get wings.

 

[Reeder]

I live right on a stream that is full of hellgrammites, but have yet to see large numbers of dobsonflies at once. One here and there and almost always late at night. Something must eat them up fairly quickly, because there are never any left by morning, and you never seem to find any dead anywhere either...

 

[Chaz]

I saw one at a Reading Phillies game a few years back. The same night Darin Ruf hit his record 38th HR.

 

[TigerTrout4wt]

I have seen some of these around. I used to work at a place near the susquehanna river. Saw a few of these and looked them up. i couldnt believe the info i found on them. I know my buddy uses helgamites as bait for bass on there but i always wondered if anyone has ever tried a dry. I guess the only way to find out would to be in a so called hatch and watch them get eaten. i have seen trout eat mice, i have even seen a bass eat a duckling. it wouldnt surprise me that this could be good pattern during summer nights (thats the only time i ever see them). Plus i would think anyone making a dry like this would be a artist. i would think almost a 6wt would be needed to throw a dry this large :lol:

 

[sandfly]

most streams in Pa have them, some more than others.