White Flies Upper Susquehanna

[jpop_66]

Travelling to Bradford Co. (Towanda area) in early August and will be tasking my uncle out for small mouth on the fly for the first time. I was hoping to catch the white fly hatch, however I wasn't sure if it occurred this far upstream on the Susquehanna. Any experiences white flies/ small mouth in general, in this section of the river?

 

[Baron]

What are white flies?

 

[Fly-Swatter]

We get a heavy hatch of them in the Tunckhannock area so I think chances are good they are in Towanda.

 

[Bamboozle]

Baron wrote:
What are white flies?

https://wiflyfisher.com/ephoron-leukon-mayfly-hatch.asp

 

[Baron]

Bamboozle wrote:

Baron wrote:
What are white flies?

https://wiflyfisher.com/ephoron-leukon-mayfly-hatch.asp

Thanks!
New to this I see that the fly is similar to the PMD used in Green River UT.

 

[Bamboozle]

Baron wrote:
Thanks!
New to this I see that the fly is similar to the PMD used in Green River UT.

You certainly could catch bass on a PMD imitation and fishermen use all sort of patterns to imitate them however, the Ephoron leukon (White Fly) is as the name suggests, white.

I tie pure white Thorax duns & Poly Wing spinners for my imitations which have the added advantage of being very visible at the time of day when the White Flies are most active.

I also know people who catch bass on small white poppers and spin fishermen who catch them on white or shad colored surface plugs, which makes no sense unless the bass were targeting smaller fish targeting the White Flies.

 

[Baron]

So the White flies are most effectively fished at dawn? since their activity took place during the night?

I live near the Delaware and these look like the same mayflies that schmear all over my vehicle when I drive along the river at night in late May. Completely coats my grill sometimes.

ANYWAY I stole this thread and am interested in seeing Jpop get his question answered.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

The hatch ar dusk into dark in August.

 

[Baron]

Fly-Swatter wrote:
The hatch ar dusk into dark in August.

So you would fish at dark as well?

 

[laszlo]

I've fished white fly into dark, really dark, and at that point your ears become very important to recognizing surface activity.

 

[jpop_66]

Good to hear, thanks for the info!

 

[jpop_66]

We get a heavy hatch of them in the Tunckhannock area so I think chances are good they are in Towanda.

Thanks for the info! That is good to hear. We have been coming up for many years to hunt and hang out at, but haven't really been in the area in early August. Usually end up doing more work at the cabin than fishing, but definitely gonna get down to the river in the PM hours!

 

[wbranch]

Baron,

So you would fish at dark as well?

Most rising activity is going to take place from as soon as they start to emerge at dusk to as long as you can put up fishing in the dark. I have seen a few instances where in the morning after a major evening emergence if you can find soft water near shore or anywhere the dead spinners my get hung up there will likely be some bass patrolling near shore to feast.

Once years ago I was wet wading at Clemson Island. I arrived just after first light and just happened to be using a small all white popper. I was rewarded with landing half a dozen big smallies 16" - 19".

In my experience the White fly (Ep luekon) only emerges in the evening - dusk to total darkness. It also appears to have an almost instant life cycle change from the dun to the spinner. I've never seen that on any other may flies. The duns will start to appear virtually everywhere and if you are wading they start to land on you. All over you actually, crawling on to your neck and face and hands and up your legs. Kind of gets me crazy. Watch any dun that lands on you and probably in under a minute it will start to vibrate and wiggle and the thorax will split and the spinner will emerge and in many cases you will see the spinner fly away with the dun shuck still attached to the rear of the spinner.

I know very well what a PMD looks like and you would do very much better with an imitation tied on a #10 or #12 dry fly hook, a clump of stiff white hackle barbules for the tail, a slim white fur abdomen and thorax and a white hackle palmered 5 or 6 wraps. If you want to imitate the spinner, which I think is preferable just clip the hackle on the bottom of the fly so it will sit flat on the water.

Be prepared to catch bass, channel catfish, and whatever other species in the river that normally eat insects.

 

[troutbert]

Bamboozle wrote:

I also know people who catch bass on small white poppers and spin fishermen who catch them on white or shad colored surface plugs, which makes no sense unless the bass were targeting smaller fish targeting the White Flies.

I've done very well with white poppers during the White Fly hatch. And I'm pretty sure the reason is just as you said, the bass are targeting the baitfish that are eating the White Mayflies. And the white poppers we use aren't the tiny poppers people use for panfish, they are medium sized.

Or use those foam minnow flies that Bob Clouser originated. Those are easier to cast than poppers because they are more streamlined. You throw it out there, let it drift a few feet, then twitch it. When the game is on, the bass will just crush it.

The surface activity sometimes begins pretty late, but sometimes it starts earlier, when the sun is setting and the light levels get lower, but still hours before full dark.

Here's a link to the Clouser floating minnow I mentioned.

https://clousersflyshop.com/products/ols/products/clouser-floating-minnow

 

[Bamboozle]

Word of warning to those not familiar with fishing the hatch in total darkness...

...be prepared to get White Flies in your face, nose & mouth if you turn on a headlamp to change flies.

Also, be prepared to see Dobsonflies about the size of a Buick Roadmaster sawing the wings off of the White flies as they dive bomb them.

And if you are really lucky...

...a Dobsonfly will land on you in total darkness and scare the livin' $#!+ out of you!!!

Been there, done that!!! ;-)

And you thought bats during a Sulphur or Green Drake hatch was scary...

 

[Dave_W]

Bamboozle wrote:
Word of warning to those not familiar with fishing the hatch in total darkness...

...be prepared to get White Flies in your face, nose & mouth if you turn on a headlamp to change flies.

Also, be prepared to see Dobsonflies about the size of Buick Roadmaster sawing the wings off of the White flies as they dive bomb them.

And if you are really lucky...

...a Dobsonfly will land on you in total darkness and scare the livin' $#!+ out of you!!!

Been there, done that!!! ;-)

And you though bats during a Sulphur or Green Drake hatch was scary...

So true... int:
It's a combat hatch.

 

[Baron]

The Delaware if full of Dobsonflys. I hate them. used to get hit by them when night time Channel Cat fishing.

 

[wbranch]

Banboozle wrote;

And if you are really lucky... ...a Dobsonfly will land on
you in total darkness and scare the livin' $#!+ out of you!!!

Interesting that you mention Dobson flies. They are pretty much the scariest bug I've ever encountered in the evening on the Delaware. I've been lucky and one just buzzed me a few times near dark and didn't land on me. However my best bud stays well into the dark on the Delaware and twice has had them not only land on him but start crawling on the back of his neck. Yuck! With those big pincers I'm sure they could give you a nasty bite.

Another bug story - On the Missouri River there used to be millions of cinnamon caddis that would emerge in huge clouds right at nightfall. They used to crawl all over me and up my sleeves and down into my shirt. One time one crawled into my right ear and I couldn't get it out. I could feel it and hear it in my ear but no amount of shaking would get it out. It ultimately died in my ear and when I got home I made an appointment to see my PCP and he got it out, in pieces, with a right angle forceps. I learned my lesson and now put ear plugs in at dusk and put elastic bands on the cuffs of my shirt.

 

[Bamboozle]

I saw a buddy of mine absolutely panic and scream like a 3rd grader when a Dobsonfly was buzzing him. That resulted in him running around, stepping on his fly line and cutting it in half with his studs!!

Funniest damn thing I ever saw...

Until one landed on my neck and I screamed like a second grader!!

What I learned after all of that was, DON'T turn on your light and you won't know they are coming to kill you!! ;-)

I've also been scared to death my marauding June Bugs on Slate Run at dark and right now there is a ginormous Horse Fly in my house and I'm about to call 911... :-o

 

[Baron]

As I understand it those pinchers are for impressing the ladies and are for part of the mating ritual. They haven't the power to pinch. I believe I read that they can bite but that would be the other end, the mandibles, which are pretty powerful. You are not prey and if you're not pinching them or trapping then in a joint somewhere they haven't any incentive to bite or pinch. That being said lets see whom constant still while they climb all over you.

Creepy, creepy, creepy.

I stopped using their larvae, Helgrammites, cause I can't stand to look at them.