Sulphurs

[GHM]

Thinking about putting together a box for sulphurs. Should I carry more than one pattern for each step in the life cycle? Is 14-18 a good size range? I’d appreciate any patterns that you have had success with(pictures would be great too).
Thanks
Gavin

 

[dudemanspecial]

14 and 16 are most common, but I havea couple 12s and 18s just in case. I have the most luck with loopwing cripples and rusty spinners, but also carry comparaduns.

 

[dc410]

I pretty much fish size 14 and 16 patterns as well. While catching fish on top with sulphurs is always a lot of fun, the wet fly action can really be crazy during sulphur hatches. Soft hackle wet flies are very productive patterns. Fish them dead drifted, swing ‘em, straight downstream and twitch ‘em, lift them at the end of the swing, bottom end of a dry dropper - you just need to keep experimenting to figure out just how the fish want it at that particular time. Here are a couple of my favorite soft hackle sulphur patterns. For those of you participating in the latest fly swap you’ll be receiving one of my soft hackles very shortly.

 

[GHM]

For Emergers, could I get away with using dry fly hooks?

 

[poopdeck]

Rusty spinners 14 - 16. Those are some nice flies DC410!

 

[Bamboozle]

For Emergers, could I get away with using dry fly hooks?

I don't know about anyone else but dry fly hooks are all I ever use for emergers.

I try and treat only the wing or wing pad with floatant so the rest of the fly hangs below the surface. That is not as easy to do with a heavier wire hook.

 

[JeffK]

For dries I have Ed Shenk style hackled sulphurs and sparkle duns in 14 and 16. Some years back I mostly used a snowshoe hare emerger and some days a sulphur Usual is the ticket. Late season on the Delaware occasionally the sulphurs get down to 20 and the fish are super picky, but pretty much everywhere else sparkle duns in 16 and 14 are all I need, but still like to fish classic hackled flies and get on a snowshoe hare kick now and again.

Many sulphur nymph patterns, just pick an easy one to tie. Often when the fish are picky a nymph suspended below the dry will save the day. Out West my best pale evening dun pattern is just a wood duck tail with a dubbed brown body with the rough silhouette of a nymph with a thin abdomen and a slightly thick thorax. Hasn't worked as well in the East, but is easy to tie. Iron Lotus in sulphur colors (rusty brown thread abdomen, yellow collar) and even a pheasant tail will do. Wet flies are another option under the hatch. The ones shown are great.

Always carry rusty spinners. I like the ones with wound grizzly hackle trimmed underneath for wings.

 

[GHM]

I don't know about anyone else but dry fly hooks are all I ever use for emergers.

I try and treat only the wing or wing pad with floatant so the rest of the fly hangs below the surface. That is not as easy to do with a heavier wire hook.

Sounds good. I never really got into emergers and am trying to up my game.

 

[Bamboozle]

Sounds good. I never really got into emergers and am trying to up my game.

I would say almost 100% of the time I'm fishing in anticipation of a Sulphur hatch, the first fly I knot on is an emerger.

There are a ton of times they won't even look at my dun imitations but will hit the emergers, even when I think they are taking duns.

That leads me to believe that either my dun imitations or my eyesight sucks. 😉

In regards to patterns,...

I use two different generic emergers for Sulphurs, the same pattern as I use for every other hatch. One has a wing nub made of snowshoe rabbit foot, a body of cream rabbit and a trailing shuck of Z-lon or Antron. The other is similar with a wing of CDC and D-Rib for ribbing.

I also fish a cream & yellow soft hackle or a Gold Ribbed Hares Ear soft hackle alone or under a dry fly.

My duns are appropriately colored although I am partial to yellow hackle 'cause I have it. 🙂 I tie mostly in size 16 and they are either parachutes or thorax flies. When one doesn't work, I'll switch to the other.

My nymphs are just a generic nymph in an dark brown/yellow mix with a dark brown wing case and legs of wood duck. I like my nymphs in a size 16 or 18.

For spinners I use a generic size 16 poly wing spinner in cream.

 

[falcon]

I use mostly barred ginger for hackle as in representing legs. Light dun hackle for a wing effect. I have seen duns and emergers tied with cream hackle also but they are usually what I call "shop flies".
Spinner bodies are mostly tannish yellow but have some in cream and rusty.
Nymphs - brown yellow mix but a light colored pheasant tail is good. I have had good success with a bubble nymph where some bright type mylar tied in a bulge is used on the wing case.
On popular tailwaters I bring the whole kit with several options as the fish get picky.