[Salmo trutta]

The winter stones are out in decent numbers. Today would probably be even better than yesterday on the upper Potomac near Dickerson. Definitely one of the better times of the year to fish a dry IMO. February dry fly fishing you ask? Yes, that is correct. Carp, catfish, sunfish and smallmouth are all keying in on this hatch. I was muskie fishing with some heavy conventional equipment on my jon boat yesterday but wished I'd just taken my waders and my 5wt. I should have known too, the first warm day in January through March almost always brings out the stones. These are good size too, say a #12 would mimic them well. But for some reason, talked about on here in years past, the fish rarely eat the adult. They are after the nymph that gets stuck in the surface film where it proceeds to squirm and wiggle for a while before it spreads its wings. I saw a few decent size swirls yesterday that were feeding on the nymphs but watched many adults drift downstream for hundreds of feet and not get touched.

Something else I figured out yesterday is that the warm water from the discharge stretches far downstream. I started at Whites Ferry and noticed a significant temperature difference even that far downriver. But only within a couple hundred feet of the MD shore. It was so pronounced that where there were two 100 foot braided channels intersected by an island, the MD shore channel was 10 degrees warmer but only separated by an island 50 feet wide. The water temp in the main river was 33 degrees with ice chunks floating down everywhere but on the MD shore, two miles below the outflow, the water temp was in the mid 40's. I think 46 was the best I found. Of course I only found this out towards the end of the day, after I ran a mile up river dodging ice chunks the whole way. I've fished that area of the river for 20 years but always figured you had to be near the outflow for warm water and by about a mile downstream always figured the warm water would almost stretch from one shore to the other. That definitely was not the case. The stone flies didn't seem to mind where the warm water was but the fish eating them did.

A good pattern would be a #14, dark brown nymph that would almost float in the surface film. The problem is that the weight of the hook would submerge the nymph and a bead head or any traditional nymph is way too heavy. I've tried all sorts of patterns the last few years but also almost forget about this short lived phenomenon in our area to bother finding that perfect nymph. By the time I start looking or tying, the hatch is over. I've tried adding some foam to a nymph before and think that is the way to go, plus maybe a marabou tail to give a little motion without movement. To be honest, I've never done very well during this hatch but seen some major surface feeding binges as I stood there in awe. I wish I wasn't working today.

 

[Salmo trutta]

I bet you can set your clock to a good stonefly hatch this weekend with the warm sunny weather coming. Just about any stream or river will have them but I've seen the highest concentrations around Dickerson. Not sure if it's the warm water that attracks them.

Some rivers like in Western, MD, the banks will be littered with winter stoneflies and they are often very easy to see when the cover the snow covered banks. but I think the ones I'm seeing are a different species because they look larger, fly around as adults and I've seen the nymph squirming in the surface.

Is anyone fishing? I don't think I've ever seen the fly board this slow. I'm just trying to help out some fellow fishermen and spread the word that even in the dead middle of winter, some phenominal fly fishing exists. Dry fly even.

This would be a deadly pattern but it still won't float in the surface film. I've caught some fish on it in the past as a dropper behind a larger adult stone or elk hair caddis. Someone also once recommended I try an elk hair caddis with it's wings cut off or mostly cut off. It wouldn't look like more than a piece of pocket lint after that but maybe from below the cut wings look like legs.

Here's the nymph I've used in the past, this with some foam would be killer I think.
http://www.orvis.com/store/productc...oup_id=1248&cat_id=5845&subcat_id=7174&bhcp=1

 

[chesapeakeblend]

Nice! Gotta love those little stones! Did you see no Flyfishing Film Tour in our area this year? Hope LSA is still keeping you busy.

Mike

 

[Salmo trutta]

Hi Mike, I didn't hear about the Film tour this year. I sent you BM.

 

[HJS]

Salmo - I wrote a report on TF (maybe the old WWA, dunno) about this very subject. Had to be almost 10 years ago. I arrived at river side at Dickersen on a warm, calm day in mid-February, conditions were perfect. Flow was low and clear, just right. I saw 100s of adult stoneflies skating across the river and fish were rising everywhere by the dozens at a time... almost blitz-grade. (This was before the smallies and sunfish populations crashed several years ago) I flailed the surface with a perfect dry imitation for 30 minutes without a hit. My dryfly drifted over uncounted feeding fish without a single whiff. Thats when I took a step back to observe. I visually followed many fluttering stoneflies as they drifted downriver over actively feeding fish, totally unmolested ... HUH!!!, I thought!!! Then I carefully observed several feeding fish and saw them taking something from the surface film... and each time they rose there was no adult stoneflies on the surface moments prior to the fish rising. Thats when I got nose to the water and saw little black stonefly larva squirming in the surface film. Maybe every square yard of water had one. I riffled thru my fly box but could only come up with a fairly lame copy. Only a few dumb sunfish fell for it, but at least I fooled a few of them. I took a few live nymphs home to make copies. I tried fur & hackle bodies but thin foam sheeting with legs seemed to look and float the best in a pan of water. I went back to Dickersen a few days later but conditions weren't nearly as good, only a few stones and not many rises. I did catch a few modest smallies and sunfish on the my new-tied nymphs but action was not what I had envisioned while tying them. Adults were around size 14 but the nymphs were a couple sizes smaller... a real bear to tie and still float and look good.

February should be the month for little black stoneflies at Dickersen. Wait for a mild, calm, sunny afternoon and flies will be flying and fish will be rising.

 

[Salmo trutta]

Yes I remember your report HJS. I got the foam idea from you several years ago. I noticed the same thing as I must have gone the same day or around the same time. I just wanted to bring it up again becasue the time is now. This weekend should be perfect conditions for a similar experience if the weather forecast is correct.

Last Sunday it had begun and there were stones out and aboat but I didn't see the nymphs like I did way back when. I don't even think I fished the river in the winter last year or the year before (My son is now 2). I take that back, I did take him last year on my mountain bike. The second I took him out of the baby transit he fell in the mud and wasn't too happy about it. So I haven't seen a hatch like that on the river in a few years but even Sunday's hatch down at White's Ferry was promising.

 

[Salmo trutta]

The bugs were out this weekend. I pulled about 10 off the back of my neck on Sunday. I was with three kids, including a two year old, on the muddy, slippery banks of the Potomac. My fishing attention was limited as you could imagine. Slips in the mud were common, face plants, attempted eatings of handfuls of Monocacy silt were the norm. Even a few stoneflies may have been sacrificed to an inquisitive two year old. He thought they were the funniest things since barnie. But when one would land on him, he wasn't too happy about it.

I saw several swirls even two miles down river of the discharge. Even saw a few adults get taken and managed to catch a few bluegill on an ant pattern with the fly rod. I probably took all of 5 casts with the fly rod. Ryan, my two year old, was far more interested in the fly rod than the spinning rods btw. I worked a few carp rods for the kids but came up empty. Stone throwing and fire building was the number one priority yesterday. But the bugs were hatching like expected. I hope someone got in on the fun. This week should be just as good. There was a strong south wind yesterday that may have put a few bugs down but today it's dead calm and the conditions couldn't be more perfect for a February dry fly outing.

 

[HJS]

I'm about to head there shortly. Calm wind, warm temps, and the stones might be flying. We shall see if I get there.

 

[HJS]

Fished Dickersen on Monday from noon to 2:30pm. Excellent conditions, mild, near calm, but the river is quite low and clear. However, the stoneflies didn't come out to play. The hatch of stones today was very weak and only a few fish were rising. My experimental surface nymph floated in the surface film for about 3 casts then sank. Abandoned them and switch to dry adult stones. Had a few light sips from very discriminating fish but missed them all. Guess my dry wasn't as good as I had thought. Finally landed 2 dink sunnies. Some of the surface boils that were out of reach were made by some very nice fish. Soooo... back to the tying table.

Only saw a couple dozen natural stoneflies fluttering on the surface in 2.5 hours of fishing and only a few of them were taken by fish. The rest either made it to land or drifted out of sight.

 

[SteveL]

HJS,

The construction at Dickerson (they are modifying the plant to install CO2 scrubbers, making it much more green) has resulted in them not warming the discharge water very much--its only a few degrees above ambient most days, so it is not nearly as good for winter fishing this season. I have paddled kayaks in the outflow ww course a lot this winter, I have really missed the warmer water. I ask any fishermen that I see at the bottom how they are doing, I have yet to talk to anyone that has caught much.

I am looking forward to seeing you and Salmo tomorrow at Jim's talk on Po shad restoration.

This week as the Po water temps warm towards 40 F and above would be an outstanding time for walleye!

 

[Salmo trutta]

I wish I had more time to try my fly I used the other day. It was an ant pattern with a hard plastic body, almost like glass. The hackle or wing material was very sparse and therefore even with fly floatant, it wouldn't stay on the surface very well or for very long. But I watched it drift past me when it had sunk and it was staying very near the surface.

In the few casts I made, I got some takes and caught a couple bluegill. I just wish I had waders to get out to the larger swirls.

I think your nymph would work well if you used it as a dropper to an elk hair caddis or ant pattern. Plus I saw quite a few adults get plucked off. This was upstream of whites ferry about 1 mile, just inside the first braided channel. I could see fish rising over 100 yards away too, well into the cold water area. I have no idea what the water temp was on Sunday but I'm guessing if it's anything like the previous sunday, the warmer (45 degree) water is within 100 feet of the shoreline.

Not sure why there were so few stones out for you. Maybe the majority of them already hatched. It will need another cold spell and then a new warming spell to trigure another batch with the higest concentrations of bugs occurring on the first day or two of the warming trend. I've seen something similar happen years past.

 

[poriverrat]

I was from sheperd to dam 4 on saturday and these same stone flies were everywhere, the water was definitely colder there and we didn't see anything taking them. I could see in warmer water where the fish might not be able to control themselves. this was my first outing this year, i am still waiting to boat my first one of the season.

 

[Salmo trutta]

Poriverrat, I sent you a bmail.

 

[fly flinger]

Foam tying material

Have tried using Darico Foamies? This foam comes 8 X 10" sheets in two thicknesses and available at most craft stores. Its also used to make crease flies and floaties for tarpon.

I haven't fished those waters since entering the Navy in 1963. Back then the Potomac was grey/green from the sewage discharges up river.

Former river rat.

 

[poriverrat]

Hey Salmo, I responded to your bmail, haven't been on in a while!

Flyflinger i know what you mean, for years we would not eat any catfish we caught, but I think times have changed. Every year i am amazed at the diversity in the potomac, at least where we usually fish, from dam 3 up to above Hancock. We actually caught a 14" rainbow trout in the water about 2 miles upstream of dam 3 about 2 years ago. Who would of thought, I don't think this fish would of lasted through summer, but it was interesting.

 

[poriverrat]

and by the way, the foamies would probably be killer around williamsport, never tried that, we use the typical small and large popper flies.