trip report and bug ID help

[tomcraw]

Had a nice week at Red Feather Lakes in northern Colorado. Been going there since '82 but only started tying and proper fly fishing the last couple of years. Previously always used flies but on bubble and leader, mostly old style wet flies like the gray hackle peacock.

Anyway, had a float tube and had a good time trolling and throwing dries in the middle of the lakes. Caught a bunch off a para-hopper which was a blast, they would hit it hard.

Most successful flies-
Para-hopper
Pat's Rubber Legs
Trico Spinner
Beadhead Flashback Hare's Ear
Rust Slumpbuster
Beadhead Barr Emerger BWO
Chubby Chernobyl
Olive or Black Wooly Bugger
Thin Mints Bugger
Meat Whistle

No matter what I could not match what they were taking on the surface film. It was a combination of dead mayflies, chironomids and emerging mayflies (BWO and PMD). I threw everything I could that would hang around on the top. Not a sniff. Definitely motivated to figure out what to do next time. The Trico Spinner did not work during these rises although it worked at other times. Tried all types of Barr Emergers, RS2, parachute emergers on dry and nymph hooks, and dropping brassie, rainbow warrior, zebra midge, etc below a bigger dry.


Finally - any help in identifying these two bugs?

obligatory trout pic:

 

[mcnerney]

I can only see the middle photo and the angle makes it difficult to see the bug very good. It could be a pmd or maybe a callibaetis.

 

[tomcraw]

I can see them but Flickr is being strange today. I'll try to upload a zoomed in pic

 

[tomcraw]

 

[tomcraw]

I couldn't figure that one out, a very bulbous body with no tails.

 

[stenacron]

I'm not positive, but neither appears to be an aquatic-based insect to me. The top one may be a type of winged terrestrial. The orange one looks like and aphid-type beast. Again, I could be mistaken, but the daily anabatic winds sweep up the mountainsides and deliver all kinds of woodland creatures to the lake surfaces.

 

[mcnerney]

Ok, I see them now, I take back my earlier guess, I have no idea!

 

[knotjoe]

First one is a Snakefly, second one is probably some type of winged aphid.

Third one is a Loomis.

Edit...check out oleander aphids, it looks to be your bug. As an aside, I just answered one of my own mysteries from earlier this year while searching for your little bug. I found a wooly aphid last year and just wrote it off to a small bug with cottonwood or white fungus on it. They really look like that normally! I'll be darned.:shocked:

Thanks, man, your inquiry made me a bit smarter today.

 

[stenacron]

First one is a Snakefly, second one is probably some type of winged aphid.

Third one is a Loomis.

Edit...check out oleander aphids, it looks to be your bug. As an aside, I just answered one of my own mysteries from earlier this year while searching for your little bug. I found a wooly aphid last year and just wrote it off to a small bug with cottonwood or white fungus on it. They really look like that normally! I'll be darned.:shocked:

Thanks, man, your inquiry made me a bit smarter today.

Boom, and boom... 2 for 2... thank you KnotJoe!

 

[flav]

Sounds like a possible ant hatch to me. I almost never actually see them on the water, but when I see fish rising all over the lake and see no callibaetis, midges, or caddis being eaten on the surface I always tie on an ant. They must taste good, cuz trout love 'em.

 

[knotjoe]

Boom, and boom... 2 for 2... thank you KnotJoe!

Main reason I got the aphid was because your earlier guess jogged my memory which was of another posting (where, I don’t recall) of a winged aphid. It was on a FFing forum, too. Thus, you get equal credit for ID.:clap2:

So now I gotta ask…does anyone ever try tying a few imitations of these guys for those more perplexing days onstream? It’s leggy little bug, brightly colored, with longish wings and a big, phat booty. Sounds like the perfect dry fly in terms of design as opposed to the anemic little mayflies folks are always hackling at and hoping for buoyancy.

Nice silhouette, high vis coloration, and an abdomen which lends itself well to buoyant materials. I mean, if your not catching fish on the “supposed to work” offerings why not try a windblown aphid? Makes me wonder about Rainbow Warriors, gaudy dries, and the popularity of a hot spot added to some flies as of late.

Not a troutsman here, I’m a bass and warm water guy with custom dubbings inspired by the iridescent nature of beetle barf. If you’ve ever seen a smallmouth hock-up a bellyful of Japanese Beetles, you know what I mean. I’d do aphids in a second if I was getting snubbed by trout. Although it's a tiny bug, it's also one with a very distinct profile on top or in the film. Might even be able to double it in size and still hit fish if it has the strangely unique attributes they are keying on.

Look at those legs and other body parts, there's an unusual put together with bold visual contrasts. Worth doing at the vise...just because.

 

[tomcraw]

First one is a Snakefly, second one is probably some type of winged aphid.

Third one is a Loomis.

Edit...check out oleander aphids, it looks to be your bug. As an aside, I just answered one of my own mysteries from earlier this year while searching for your little bug. I found a wooly aphid last year and just wrote it off to a small bug with cottonwood or white fungus on it. They really look like that normally! I'll be darned.:shocked:

Thanks, man, your inquiry made me a bit smarter today.

Thanks! I might try to tie something like it. Probably not common but I don't see why they wouldn't want to eat that fat little bugger.

 

[tomcraw]

Can't find any patterns for a snakefly, there is a common streamer called that and gets all the results. Maybe a small black hopper or stimulator would do it.

 

[stenacron]

Main reason I got the aphid was because your earlier guess jogged my memory which was of another posting (where, I don’t recall) of a winged aphid. It was on a FFing forum, too. Thus, you get equal credit for ID.:clap2:

I'll take it! Mod's, put me down for an "assist" in my thread/stat column please.

So now I gotta ask…does anyone ever try tying a few imitations of these guys for those more perplexing days onstream? It’s leggy little bug, brightly colored, with longish wings and a big, phat booty. Sounds like the perfect dry fly in terms of design as opposed to the anemic little mayflies folks are always hackling at and hoping for buoyancy.

Probably not worth imitating as these insects are likely more of a chance opportunity rather than a reoccurring presence to the trout. What happens on these mountain/alpine lakes out west are the anabatic winds that fire up almost every morning/afternoon during the summer. Due to uneven heating between valley floors, mountain faces, and the surrounding air these winds start to sweep upwards and - referencing LaFontaine's book - act like a vacuum cleaner, sucking up all kinds of insects (winged and terrestrial) along the way. When they reach the mountaintop areas the winds subside a bit dropping their cache of bugs onto the lake surface and the dinner bell starts to ring. LaFontaine studied this effect intensively (just as he always did) and even provided a breakdown on the most likely "bugs" to end up in the drink; percentage of grasshoppers, beetles, ants, spiders, etc.

Long way of saying that trout that live in alpine lakes aren't very selective when cruising the surface looking for choice morsels once the landing "splats" start to occur.

 

[stenacron]

No matter what I could not match what they were taking on the surface film. It was a combination of dead mayflies, chironomids and emerging mayflies (BWO and PMD). I threw everything I could that would hang around on the top. Not a sniff. Definitely motivated to figure out what to do next time.

No BWOs or PMDs in the lakes, but probably a steady supply of Callibaetis mayflies (aka Speckle-winged Dun). You definitely would have noticed them as they are rather robust (hook size 12-16) and ride the surface for a while before taking off. Here's a pic of one from a local lake here in Utah:


I agree with Flav's reply also... ant hatches will send fish into a surface frenzy on these mountain lakes. Even though they can range quite small (hook size 20-22) they must taste delicious because every trout in the lake seems to throw caution to the wind when a fallout occurs. Difficult to predict though... more of a right place, right time kind of deal.

Back to the Callibaetis... #1 producer for me during mayfly activity on mountain lakes is Rickards' Callibaetis Nymph... slow hand/twist retrieve, or short (~4") strip with long pauses in between... fish attack this fly with gusto when chomping on mayflies:

 

[knotjoe]

Can't find any patterns for a snakefly, there is a common streamer called that and gets all the results. Maybe a small black hopper or stimulator would do it.

I wouldn’t worry much about the Snakefly, she’s probably out and about to eat the aphids and lay eggs. Snakeflys are terrestrials and the long ovipositor is for tree bark. Probably not common enough in numbers to bother imitating. I'm sure a hopper would work just fine.

On aphid flies? I did some googling and there are tyers who indulge in this imitation and make some impressive claims for the success of it. I’m not surprised here, largely because a thread beginning with an aphid photo went decidedly ant positive on fishing success and recommendations.

Look into the symbiotic relationship between ants and aphids and it’s no surprise. Ants in trees/plants are often there to tend to aphid herds, they move them about, protect them from predation, remove the dead members, etc all to get a drop of that honeydew. Pretty cool and if a windy day sees ants on the water, it likely sees plenty of aphids as well. Check out the foliage around your local waters, that Oleander aphid wasn’t likely a loner.

Not saying a brightly colored aphid on an “ant hatch” would be more effective, but it might be distinct enough to draw more attention amidst plentiful other options. I get plenty of picky Bluegills on micro-beetles and and ants, yet it never occurred to me the milkweed behind me everywhere is covered with ants and brightly covered aphids. Gonna splat some tiny red and yellows w/black legs this year just to see if there's a difference.

So many Indiana "hatches" are like what stenacron describes...windy day ala carte. Relative noticeability is often increased probability, especially in stillwaters.

 

[markfrid]

I don't know about the Snakefly, but the orange one I think could be important if you fish the high Colorado lakes. The fly shops in Estes Park sell a pattern called an Orange Asher which they claim can be a killer on the high lakes at certain times. Its not a complicated pattern, just an orange body with a palmered grizzly hackle. Google "Orange Asher fly pattern" and you can pull up some pics.

Mark