7625 sir, one of each please, and I'll Take that Gift Wrapped!

[rford]

Ok, I decided I will get myself really prepped for the spring.

I did some research on all the Delaware and Catskill fly shops, I hijacked and cut and pasted Hatch charts etc, to come up with a laundry list of what one needs to be prepared.

If you were to have one of each of the following flies in your box in every major style, color, size and stage of life, you would have

Seven Thousand Six Hundred and Twenty Five Fly’s.
But to be realistic you want to have a dozen of each in the event you catch a selective hatch!
That’s 91,500

Were going to need a bigger vest!

Delaware Fly List


Styles Needed : Catskill (hackled), CDC, Comparadun, Parachute, Snowshoe, Attractor

Mayfly’s

Stages:

Nymph
Duns
Cripple
Emerger
Spinner

Blue Wing Olives

Dark Blue Winged Olive - Baetis vegans 16, 18
Blue Quill - Paraleptophlebia adoptiva, mollis 16,18
Quill Gordon - Epeorus pleuralis 14
Light Blue Winged Olive - Ephemerella cornuta 14
Dark Blue Wing Olive - Ephemerella deficiens, lata, depressa16, 18,20,22
Light Blue Wing Olive - Ephemerella attenuata, cornutella, Heptagenia hebe16, 18, 20
Tiny Blue Wing Olive – Pseudocloeon22, 24, 26

Iso’s

Slate Drake - Isonychia bicolor, sadleri & harperi12, 14


Sulphers

Sulphurs - Light Cahill - Epeorus vitreus - male, Ephemerella invaria, Stenacrons 14
Pale Evening Dun - Epeorus vitreus – female
Sulphur - Ephemerella dorothea 16, 20
Sulphurs - Heptagenia, Ephemerella sp.18, 20
Summer Sulphurs - Stenonemas & Stenacrons14, 18


Hendrickson’s

Light Hendrickson - Ephemerella subvaria female 12, 14
Dark Hendrickson, Red Quill - Ephemerella X and subvaria male 14, 16

March Browns

March Brown - Stenonema vicarium 10

Grey Fox

Gray Fox - Stenonema fuscum

Drakes (Green, Brown, Golden)

Green Drake - Ephemera guttulata 8
Brown Drake - Ephemera simulans 10
Yellow Drake - Potomanthus distinctus 12

Tricos

Trico – Tricorythodes22, 24, 26

White Fly’s

White Fly - Ephoron leukon 12

Caddis

Pupa
Adult

Apple
Light wing, apple green body caddis - Light Brachycentrus species 16, 20

Black
Dark wing, charcoal body - Dk. Brachycentrus, Chimarra, and Psilotreta species14, 16, 18, 20

Tan/Brown
Light wing, medium brown body caddis - Hydropsyche species16, 18, 20
Medium wing, medium brown body cadddis - Glossosoma species14, 16, 18
Medium wing, tan body caddis - Hydropsyche species16, 18, 20, 22
Light wing, tan body caddis - Light Hydropsyche species18, 20

Olive
Medium wing, medium olive body caddis - Ryacophilia species16, 18, 20

Sedge (go home)


Stoneflies

Nymph
Emerger
Adult


Black / Brown
Tiny Black Stonefly - Capniadae species 18
Early Black and Brown Stonefly - Taeniopteryx species14, 16
Black Stonefly – Pteronarcys 4, 6
Brown Stonefly - Perlidae Brown 6

Gold
Golden Stonefly – Acroneuria 8

Olive
Olive Stonefly - Perlidae Olive

Nymph
Emerger
Adult

Terrestrials

Black
Charcoal Body 16,18,20,22
Cinnamon Ant 16,18,20,22
Mahogany Body 16, 18, 20, 22
Flying Ant 16,18,20,22

Beatles 12, 14,16,18,20

Hoppers 8,10,12,14



Streamers

Size 2, 4, 6,8,10

White
Black
Brown
Olive
Yellow

 

[dcabarle]

Ralph,

Nice "little" list you have going on there. The only thing I noticed is that some of the items are no longer. Take a look at the hatch chart on this site. One of our users, "Taxon", has been generous enough to monitor the list and keep us updated as to name changes.

A few that come to mind are two of the big ones:

• March Browns - formerly Stenonema vicarium - Re-classified as, Maccaffertium vicarium
• Gray Fox - formerly Stenonema fuscum - Re-classified as, Maccaffertium vicarium

Anyhow, at the end of the day the colors or sizes of these things haven't changed. If you go into the fly shops, a March Brown is still a March Brown.

Taxons Website is probably the most informative site in the world when it comes to entomology.
http://www.flyfishingentomology.com

 

[Flygal]

Excellent site FFE....I'll be a frequent visitor.

 

[theartoflee]

If you want to save money try fishing or tying the sparkle dun. it allows one to fish two stages of the same insect at the same time.

However i am sure that might be considered cheating by some. it you did that you could monumentally cut down your number of needed flys but what fun would that be.

 

[biot]

A few that come to mind are two of the big ones:

• March Browns - formerly Stenonema vicarium - Re-classified as, Maccaffertium vicarium
• Gray Fox - formerly Stenonema fuscum - Re-classified as, Maccaffertium vicarium

I don't give a "Rats Ass" what these scientists classified as being the same. These two flies are totally different colors when it comes to the spinner stage, therefore for me anyway, a March Brown is still a MB and Gray Fox is still a Gray Fox, totally different Hatches.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

 

[JeffK]

Get some Adams for early hatches and some yellow sparkle duns in various sizes for 90% of the time. Get GRHE and PT nymphs for underwater and a green caddis larva for good luck. Don't forget lots and lots of BWOs! A few rusty spinners and some simple midges and you are done. Then get a few thousand flies you never use. I think that's what a lot of us do, but it keeps it interesting!.

 

[emerger]

I guess everyone will know Ralph when they see him this year. He will be the only angler with a belly boat in tow just to hold his flies.:rofl:

 

[rford]

So forgetting about every thing but drys, what 10 dry flies do you always carry on to the delaware system?

 

[bkill]

1. Hendrickson Comparadun size 10 & 12
2. BWO size 16
3. March Brown Comparadun size 10
4. Grey Fox size 14
5. Green Drake parachute size 8 & 10
6. Sulfer parachute 14-18
7. Isonychia size 10
8. White Fly size 12
9. Ausable Wulf size 12 & 14
10. Griffins Gnat size 18

I usually use parachute or comparadun patterns..I dont find it necessary to go real small, the fish arent as selective as most people believe (there are a few pools that are exceptions, but I dont fish them)....I fall into the "presentation" school...

See ya on the water...

 

[The_Sib]

A little light on the streamer descriptions, Ralph.

You wouldn't be holding out on us, EH ?

 

[JeffK]

I had the privelege to talk to Gary Lafontaine a few years back. His point was that you need 1000's of flies for different rivers, seasons, experimentation. etc but that you only need about a dozen for any one outing. He got a kick out of guys that carried all their flies all the time.

 

[rford]

A little light on the streamer descriptions, Ralph.

You wouldn't be holding out on us, EH ?

No, there is just such a liteny of streamers one could choose, I did not know where to start.

I use circus peanuts now 90 % of the time. You can order them on line from Kelly Gallup and Drew over in Pine Brook carries them at Tite Lines.

Most of the time I am using white streamers size 2 or 4.

Thats why I listed colors not patterns, as thats a personal choice and I really dont think it make a different. As the gentleman pointed out below its about presentation with drys, I beleive its the same with streamers more dependant on water levals and what pools you are fishing. I love to bang the banks from a drift boat.
Generally I take 3 - 5 strips from bank and start all over, although I had one chase it all the way to boat this year.
A lot of guys dead drift streamers like giant nymphs and thats very effective, I just get board doing that. And then some purists swing traditional streamers in a grid. Not my bag.

Different strokes greg!

Ralph