Black Stoneflies

[sstasiak]

Can anyone give any info on when and where in NJ one can expect to see these? I didn't think they were around this early but if I remember right, someone had posted seeing them already. I don't know much about them so any info would help.

I'm heading out to some new wild trout water in NJ and don't know if I should tie some of these nymphs up. Also, has anyone had success fishing midge dry flies in the winter in NJ?

 

[JOE.T]

For the short time I lived in Nj I had great success midge fishing in the winter especially with weather like this.

If you heard that stones have been seen I am sure they have.They are sometimes reffered to as "winter stones".Again with this weather I wouldnt be surprised.Have some dires ready to!

 

[sstasiak]

Have some dires ready to!

Did you mean dries, or are dires something else I need to learn about?

Thanks for the info.

 

[JOE.T]

Sorry,


Dry flies - stones 16/18.


gude luk!

 

[JeffK]

They can come up pretty early if the weather is warm - earliest dry fly fishing I had for little black stones is 1/24, but that hatches are tough to predict since winter weather is so variable these days. They are normally better in March in my experience. The nymphs are active all winter and are more reliable. Stoneflies like cleaner water, so the better streams for stoneflies will be the Trout Production ones.

BTW, the last few winters I have been seeing bluebirds commonly while fishing (they look really cool against snow). I asked an Audobon Society naturalist about it and he said they survive on little black stoneflies and springtails (a terrestrial) in the winter and gravitate to cleaner streams where the stoneflies are. They tend to hang out in flocks in the winter because they congregate in tree cavities at night to stay warm. So if you see bluebirds there may be stoneflies about.

 

[Scott]

I concour. With this warm weather don't be surprised if a few of the early black stones start showing up. This is a good time for midge dries on the BFB. I've seen them as early as the beginning of February, and that was under much colder conditions.

 

[Taxon]

They can come up pretty early if the weather is warm - earliest dry fly fishing I had for little black stones is 1/24, but that hatches are tough to predict since winter weather is so variable these days. They are normally better in March in my experience. The nymphs are active all winter and are more reliable. Stoneflies like cleaner water, so the better streams for stoneflies will be the Trout Production ones.

BTW, the last few winters I have been seeing bluebirds commonly while fishing (they look really cool against snow). I asked an Audobon Society naturalist about it and he said they survive on little black stoneflies and springtails (a terrestrial) in the winter and gravitate to cleaner streams where the stoneflies are. They tend to hang out in flocks in the winter because they congregate in tree cavities at night to stay warm. So if you see bluebirds there may be stoneflies about.

Jeff-

Very nice post. I will point out that not all springtails are terrestrial. Perhaps 5% of the approximately 300 N. American species are associated with freshwater surfaces. Whether (or not) bluebirds feed on the aquatic springtails is another matter, but trout may do so, particularly some species that are said to swarm in large numbers on the water surface.