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Driftless Hatch Charts

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all aquatic insects found in Driftless trout streams, instead we have highlighted those hatches that are most important to us as fly fishers. Below each chart you will find information about each insect and the most effective patterns to imitate them.

Mayflies of the Driftless

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It wouldn't be right if I didn't give a plug for one of our favorite books. It's written by Carl Richards. In it, he talks specifically about fish feeding behavior, and it has the more detailed information about aquatic insects and their hatching behavior than any book I seen. I haven't found too many libraries that carry it, but you can usually find it relatively inexpensive on amazon.

Little Blue Winged Olive

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Baetis spp

Time of Year

Feb-Nov

Hatch Time

Morning and Evening

Dark Hendrickson

Hendrickson.jpg
E. subvaria

Time of Year

April-Early May

Hatch Time

Afternoon

Sulphur

sulphur.JPG
E. invaria

Time of Year

May-June

Hatch Time

Afternoon

March Brown/Gray Fox

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M. vicarium

Time of Year

May-July

Hatch Time

Sporadic/Even

Light Cahill

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M. ithaca

Time of Year

May-July

Hatch Time

Evening

Pale Evening Dun

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Ephemerella dorthea

Time of Year

May-July

Hatch Time

Late morning-early afternoon

Trico

trico.jpg
Tricorythodes

Time of Year

June-Sept

Hatch Time

Morning

Books we would recommend

The Bug Book
By: Paul Weamer
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Caddisflies of the Driftless

Below you will find the Caddis hatch chart for the driftless region. Imitating caddis is more about size and their action on the water, than it is actually matching what they look like. So Instead of listing out specific patterns for each species, below the insect photos, we have listed our favorite patterns that can be effective for all species by simply changing size and how you move them on the water.

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Grannom.JPG
Grannom.jpeg

Grannom/Apple Caddis

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Microcaddis.JPG

Microcaddis

Grannom.JPG
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Little Black Caddis

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Longhorned Sedge

Grannom.JPG
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Spotted Sedge

Top Caddis Patterns

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Wally Wing Caddis

wally-winged-fluttering-caddis-fly-tying

Fluttering Caddis

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Skittering Caddis

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