Have y’all met Phil at the shop? He is the new guy behind the counter with a Carolina accent. I’ve spoken about Phil many times over the years as he has not only been a good friend of mine, but one hell of an angler and someone who has the Metolius River pretty dialed in. He has always shared his intel with me for my reports I share with you.
So good Ol’ Phil had one heck’uva Green Drake day a few days ago. Landing lots of nice redbands on the afternoon Green Drake hatch! He said it began at 3:40 PM and went to about 5:30 with a frenzy of takes on dries the entire time.
Before the Drakes you can expect a good PMD hatch.
Now, here is a Hatch Frustration Buster for you, courtesy of my main man Chester. He was watching fish eat dries the other day, and went through the usual suspects of mayfly emergers, cripples, duns and I think he said even spinners, and he could not get a fish to even look at his fly. And this is a dude who knows how to present the fly and get a slack line, drag free float.
He went into double secret detective mode and discovered Little Olive Stones were what the fish were gorging on, and tied on a Henryville and started catching fish right away.
So, while we often think of those little olive stoneflies as a late summer and fall hatch, they are more than that and it is important to keep a #16 and #18 Henryville or Olive CDC in your fly box now too.
As you know, the Upper River will have its long awaited opening on May 22nd. That includes the areas of the river upstream from the Allingham Bridge to the Headwaters. It ought to be fun and good fishing up there starting mid-week. I know some friends who are already planning to be there! I want to go, but after being in MX for a week, I should probably actually go to work for a bit on May 22, but hey, who knows. I keep telling myself that I will remember a trip or a fishing day on my death bed more than an extra day of work and that story continues to justify this awesome fishing bender I am enjoying right now.
To cap off the Metolius details for the week, we can’t forget about the very good and consistent nymph options you’ll encounter all day long. Tan Caddis Pupa (have you tried my new fly?), Perdigons, Walts, Micro Mayflies, Soft Hackle PT’s, 2 Bit Hookers, Zebra Midges, Golden Stone nymphs and Green Drake Nymphs.
This is going to be a good week to be on the Metolius and should remain consistent with these flies until the end of June. On warmer evenings stay late for Caddis and Rusty Spinners. If it is cool and windy (as I hear it is at home this weekend) you can likely be wrapped up by 5:30 and ready to go home and grill some steaks and enjoy a beverage. But a warm evening rise? Pack your cooler and stay until dark.