Smallmouth and the white mayfly hatch

[flav]

I'm spending the summer in the midwest and have been chasing river smallmouth. Apparently on some rivers the hatch of white mayflies (Ephoron leukron) brings the bass up to the surface in the evening when these mayflies hatch in August. I've seen smallies sipping trico spinners in Oregon, but those are small bass eating small bugs. I wondered if anyone has experienced smallies eating duns or spinners during this particular hatch, and am I going to be catching any decent sized fish, or is it going to be little guys?

 

[knotjoe]

Well, in my experience it’s usually small to medium size fish going after the Whites (or any other bug) in midwestern streams. Be that as it may, it’s alotta fun if you’re caught in a summer evening "blizzard" and yellow poppers work just as well as any mayfly imitation. Craws and clousers work pretty well, too, but it’s nice to get topwater action so we usually abide.

I didn’t get the last hatch, just out redhorsing and such post fall and the banks were littered in many areas. One negative; after a big hatch on some streams the bass fishing can truly suck for a bit. A positive; redhorse and other suckers seem a bit more inclined to opportunism post hatch and are slightly more inclined to be caught on (any) nymphs. Obvious reasons for both scenarios, one of these days I’ll tye an imitative white nymph for the suckers to test “residual opportunism” on a white fly hatch. For bass, the surface stuff is a free-for-all and most anything jives with it, the more obvious the more effective. Here’s some visuals and sizing if you care to imitate for the heck of it…

Note the date on last pic, it's applies to all of them. No idea on timing, this is Indiana and it's just that way with bugs. Y'know...whenever.

 

[ddb]

In some trout streams in PA the white fly hatch is so dense a flashlight beam creates a visual 'white out' . No matter what you use the odds are miliions to one a trout will find your specific imitation while they suck up the buffet. You may actually connect with one or two but they are all on the feed then.

DDB

 

[skunkedalot]

we get a white fly hatch on the housatonic river in ct. every summer. it is a blast to fish.
the smallies go crazy for the bug. the fishing is really better before the main event each evening as the fish are really keyed on the white flies even before the hatch actually begins . the only issue with the white fly hatch we get is that it is often almost dark when it really cranks.
but all in all- it is just a blast to fish.

 

[dennyk]

I've never fished them for Smallmouth. I pretty much stick with black or chartreuse sliders and poppers depending on the lighting conditions. For sub surface I'm sold on either black or olive Woolly Buggers.

Denny

 

[knotjoe]

In some trout streams in PA the white fly hatch is so dense a flashlight beam creates a visual 'white out' . No matter what you use the odds are miliions to one a trout will find your specific imitation while they suck up the buffet. You may actually connect with one or two but they are all on the feed then.

DDB

Yeah, there’s a probability dilemma that hitchhikes along with insane hatches or over abundance of any forage, hence the reason I don’t chase such phenomena with any zeal. The “million to one” odds function a bit differently during a White Miller event in Indiana, it’s a million of these guys and friends for each bass that finds the fly…

Above is a creek chub. There’s also River chubs, Horny heads, shiners, sunfish, tiny basses, the list goes on and on when the summer snow starts at sunset. This is one of the big advantages of not matching the hatch and going with larger poppers instead of the traditional logic and approach. One can “outsize” the bycatch and avoid some of them if smallmouth are what you wish for.

Compare the mouth of the Creek Chub above to the size of the Whitefly and you’ll see what I mean. They don’t ignore hatches, they live for them, and their population numbers are proportionately huge in most creeks. Really, they’re not a bad forage fish to imitate during a White Miller hatch if you’re going for BIG bass.:wink:

Granted, I like catching all species and care little for the specifics of catch if I have a light rod. If one happens to be out with a 7 wt or so, smaller bycatch is not much fun. Just stuff to keep in mind if you’re going to battle mosquitoes once the sun sets and the flies rise.

 

[bigjim5589]

Have fished that hatch back in MD a few times over the years. I never seemed to hit the biggest hatches, just secondary, but enough to grab the attention of the bass. These worked well for me.

 

[flav]

Thanks guys. I don't think the hatches on the rivers I fish reach biblical proportion, like they do elsewhere, but apparently there's enough bugs to make fish interested. I'm definitely going to try and be on the river in the evening with some white dry flies. I'm also going to tie up some scaled down steelhead skaters in light colors so I can try to skate and twitch a few fish to the surface if dead drifting doesn't get it done. I've been using a 4 weight, perfect for the 1 to 3 pound bass I've caught, and it should be great for casting dries.

 

[flav]

I'm ready, bring on the white hordes.

 

[patrick62]

Should be starting on the Housatonic in a week or so. Everything with fins goes nuts.

I hadn't thought of the white popper, to weed out the dinkers and suckers. I've got a few panfish poppers that are white, I will try them.

 

[dennyk]

I'm ready, bring on the white hordes.

View attachment 12217

Great idea incorporating the foam, nice looking patterns!

Denny

 

[deceiverbob]

I don't fish smallmouth or mayfly hatches I remember an article written Dave Whitlock where he recommended imitating the smaller fish feeding on the flies rather than the flies themselves. The bigger bass feed on the baitfish while they are pre-occupied with feeding on the flies.