Fly Fishing Emergers

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Fishing emergers

Early spring brings some nice hatches here in Utah, the best of which are the prolific blue winged olives and midges. These insects are very small and are matched by artificials in sizes from #16 through #24. But don’t let the small sizes fool you; fish eat them in great numbers. For these insects to be a staple of the trout’s diet, they need to be eaten in large quantities. The prolific hatches can sometimes hinder an angler, when fish become selective as to what insect they prefer and, in some cases, at which stage of development the preferred insect is most easily consumed. These elements combine to make for tricky fishing conditions.

Trout seem to feed readily on adult insects exclusively almost every day in the spring. But they are actually eating many insects that are in the emergence stage. After reviewing the stomach content of many fish during hatch times, I have noticed that trout seem to prefer the emergence stage of the insect over the adults. I don’t presume to know why, but 19 out of 20 insects taken from stomachs are nymphs or emergers, with few adults. Learning to fish emerger patterns can greatly increase your success rate.

Many people fish nymphs with some success; others prefer fishing dries. I’m going to describe a technique that is a combination of both, to a degree. Unlike nymph fishing, this rig is easy to cast, yet it does not require the delicacy needed to cast dry flies.

Start with a 4-or 5-weight rod with 12 feet of 5x leader. Starting at the butt section, add micro strike indicators every 8—10 inches, until you have four or five on your line. Two types of indicators work well: the Palsa stick-ons and the Bio-Strikes from Loon Outdoors. I like the Bio-Strikes because they are biodegradable. Each indicator is about the size of a small pea. Singularly they have little buoyancy, but together they have more total than many of the much larger indicators. They cause much less wind resistance and are easily cast.

After determining which flies to use (I prefer two on a line), attach the first to the end of you leader. Add 20 to 24 inches of leader to the bend of the hook, then attach you second emerger. Watch the rise forms of the fish. If they are only occasionally breaking the surface add a single #8 split shot 12 inches from your first fly. If they seem to be feeding much closer to the surface, use no weight at all.

Place you cast across the river and slightly upstream of the rising trout. A few mends to combat current are all that is needed. Make quite a few presentations until the fish takes. The strike is often very subtle, but your indicators are very sensitive. Instead of the entire indicator system disappearing beneath the surface, only 1 or 2 of the micro indicators will disappear when you get a strike. Sometimes, if you watch the drift carefully, the multiple indicators will almost point to the flies like an arrow. You will often see the fish "flash" underwater as he takes your fly, even before an indicator moves an inch.

Good emerger patterns include Rainbow Warriors, WD-40s, Serendipities and palomino midges.

This is one of my best techniques for spring fishing. It is my go-to pattern for finicky fish. Try using different colors of indicators and different lengths of leader until you develop a system that works for you.

Fishing emergers

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