Stoneflies

In our region, stone flies hatch from January through August. There are at least two dozen species which are important in the adult stage to the trout angler. These range between the tiny Winter Blacks (3/8") to the giant Salmon Fly (over 2"). The Salmon fly hatch on Oregon's Deschutes in May/June, is arguably the best dry fly fishing the Pacific Northwest has to offer. The hatch starts at the mouth of the river in the first week of May. By May 25th there are usually a few Salmon Flies at Warm Springs. The first week in June is peak for the best fifty miles, between Maupin and Warm Springs. The hatch trickles off through June and there are scattered salmon flies around Pelton Dam most

years until nearly the first of July. The so-called hatch occurs when the nymphs crawl out of the water. The nymphs will usually seek out tree trunks or other vegetation or any solid but porous structure where the claws of the nymphal feet will stay fastened securely so emergence of the adult insect can progress with out interruption. Since this hatch happens on land, it is of small importance to fishing in comparison to may fly or caddis hatches that happen at the surface of water. Most of the actual "hatching" happens at night or early in the morning.

Salmon Fly in the grass.

hatching Golden Stone…Deschutes

It can continue in daylight hours on cloud cover days or in deeply shaded areas. It is after the insects have hatched and have become active adults that they become important as trout food. During the night adult salmon flies become inactive. Their favorite places to rest or mate is in the streamside vegetation. Much of this vegetation over hangs the water. In the mid to late morning as the air temperatures rise, the adults become active and start crawling and flying around. They are clumsy and some will inevitably land in the water. It is at the river's edge that the best dry fly action usually occurs. Since the majority of the salmon flies are concentrated around the water, the

trout will take up stations under overhanging trees and grass. Casting your salmon fly imitation up stream under the over hanging trees has always been one of the secrets to successfully fishing the hatch. During the warm part of the day there will be a fairly constant rain of fluttering and flopping bugs onto the water. Pin-point casting accuracy is much more important than delicate casts. Real salmon flies are heavy and

Salmon Fly with tattered wings at the end of the line.

hit the water hard. The perfect set-up is a medium fast action six weight rod, and a 6'-7' long leader tapered down to 3X. You need to be able to poke the fly under low hanging branches and through holes in the brush. In many ways fishing the salmon fly hatch has more in common with bass bugging that classic dry fly fishing.
Golden Stones, Olive Stones and Yellow Sally Stones are important before, during and after the Salmon Fly Hatch. Little Olive Stones tend to precede the Salmon Fly Hatch by a week or two. They remain available to fish throughout most of the

"big" hatch and disappear about the same time as the Salmon Flies. Golden Stones usually linger on for a while. They are replaced by Yellow Sallys which bright yellow and are size #14 to #16.

Links to Information on Stoneflies
Stoneflies of the United States
PLECOPTERA
Stoneflies

The salmon Fly Hatch is arguably the best dry fly fishing west of the Rockies. Here is an assortment of dry flies that will give you the edge when fishing this hatch. It contains (2) each of the six following patterns: Bullet Head Salmon, Bullet Head Golden, Clark Stone, Improved Sofa Pillow, Robotic Salmon Fly & Norm Wood Special. There are 12 flies total.
Item	Description	Price	To Top
SALEQUAL	Salmon Fly Equalizer Kit	$20.95

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Salmonflies Hatching early on the Deschutes this year!

NEW! HOT! Chubby Chernobyl Golden Stonefly
Other NEW Stoneflies	Little Stones	Clark Stones
Salmon Fly Hatch Kit	Realistic Big Stones	Traditional Big Stones