Tips & Tutorials
Every region has a famous late-spring hatch — and a producing hatch nobody talks about. From Sulphurs and Slate Drakes in the East to Hex and smallmouth in the Midwest, Yellow Sallies and spinner falls out West, this is the regional fly fishing guide to the hatches that actually catch fish from late May through early July.
Stoneflies are the biggest, meatiest insect in most Western rivers — and trout know it. Here's how to fish them year-round as nymphs, then capitalize on the salmonfly and golden stone dry fly window when it arrives.
April is the most complicated month on the water — caddis building, BWOs hatching on overcast afternoons, early stonefly nymphs migrating toward the banks, all happening at once. The angler who tries to perfectly match one hatch at a time spends the whole day changing flies. These four two-fly combinations cover every April scenario so you spend less time rigging and more time fishing.
Spring runoff doesn't shut down the fishing — it changes the rules. The anglers who understand the timing windows, know where fish relocate in high water, and carry the right gear for mobile bank fishing will have some of their best days of the season while everyone else waits for June.
The caddis hatch doesn't give itself away easily. Trout are rising, bugs are flying, and most anglers still go home empty-handed — because they're fishing the wrong stage. Learn to read four rise signals and you'll know exactly which fly to tie on before you make your first cast.
