Every day I hear more and more reports of sightings. They are coming. When they show up in force, every angler within a thousand mile radius will go bat shit crazy. For good reason too: the Salmonflies are almost here.
The only Salmonfly that I have really chased is one followed by the words “Honey Rye” and lives in a nice cold, dark bottle. The crowds chasing the bugs always put me off a bit. Fishing with a whole bunch of people just makes my skin crawl. But, the salmonflies are worth a little combat fishing.
Seriously, who in their right mind can not love casting a giant, highly visible dry to incredibly aggressive fish?
I think something else about the salmonflies that appeals to anglers is the fact that they are damn hard to hit just right. You have to be in the exact right place, at the exact right time, with the exact right weather and water conditions to hit the epic hatch. Sure, you can find a few scattered here and there without too much trouble, but the catch the swarm – the blot out the sun kinda swarm – you have to put in a lot of time on the water.
Several good fishermen I know tell stories of only hitting the really great hatch once or twice in their lives. But, they still throw all their camping supplies in the back of the truck and spend a goodly amount of time every year chasing it down. It really must be that good if it drives otherwise rational men to such lengths.
Who out there is going to be chasing them this year? I know I will…
