We are in the midst of hatch chasing season and the best six weeks of fishing in the Yellowstone Region. This is the time of year we travel many miles chasing salmonflies, drakes, PMDs, and whatever else comes to the party. All with the hopes of being on the river when mayhem breaks loose, and every trout in the river is rising. It’s all going on right now, and there is no time like the present to get after it. This week, I share the joys of chasing hatches and what makes it unique.
Like many anglers, I plan my fishing trips around the hatches. From late May to early July, I spend most weekends camping in my truck and chasing bugs. All I think about this time of year is when and where the hatch will be best for bringing fish to the surface.
Obviously, this mindset is driven by the opportunity to catch a fish on a dry fly. Dry fly fishing is epic, and I love solving the puzzle and fooling a trout on the surface. But that is not the only reason we enjoy match-the-hatch fishing. It’s the surreal experience of being on the water during one of nature’s many spectacles. Witnessing a phenomenon that comes when everything from water temperatures to weather patterns lines up perfectly. All of a sudden, you look up, and bugs cover the surface, trout rise left and right, birds soar through the air, and you wish it would last forever. You feel a part of something much bigger than yourself. It’s humbling, empowering, and a reminder of how small we are in this big world.
The scarcity of hatches and the hatch season are also what make it so special. So many days on the water have little to no bug activity. You spend time watching the river, hoping for a rise, only to resort to nymphing or streamer fishing when it doesn’t come together. But only during this few-week window are all the rivers firing and bugs coming off. One can fish a dry fly as much as they please and find willing fish. That being said, there are hatches that only last a few hours a day. You are given just a few hours of bliss that end just as quickly as they started. Like anything in life, the scarcity and unpredictability of hatch season are what give it value and make it worth chasing.
Hatch season can also be a challenging time of year because wherever you choose to go, you know you will be missing out on some epic fishing elsewhere. Maybe you chase the drakes on one river, knowing you’ll miss the prime of the salmonfly hatch on another. You must learn to cast at the fish rising in front of you and prioritize the fisheries and hatches that interest you most. At the end of the day, having a plethora of hatches and fisheries to choose from is a great problem to have.
The other aspect of hatch fishing is the angler pressure that often accompanies it. Word spreads quickly when a good hatch gets going, and along come the many anglers chasing the fishing. Information spreads faster than ever before in today’s world, with so many people making fishing plans from what they see on social media. Inevitably, increased angler pressure affects the quality of fishing and the overall angler experience. Making it incredibly important to keep the hatches you’re chasing to yourself, especially when they’re lesser-known.
As you can see, there are many aspects to chasing hatches that I think about. I have many articles on dry fly fishing and chasing hatches, and I just wanted to share my excitement for this time of year while we are in it. And on top of the fishing, we get long summer days, green hillsides, and snow-capped mountains. There is truly no place I’d rather be right now.
This year will be interesting to see how long it lasts with the low snowpack and warmer-than-average temperatures. I suspect it may be shorter than usual, with low water and warm water temperatures ahead. So, all this being said, take advantage of it while it lasts and be present in your time on the water.
Thanks for reading The Curious Angler. It means the world to me.
Nick
