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Unknown 8/17/2013 3 Comments Adventure , Anglers Den , Awesomeness , Bass , Brown Trout , CT , Dry Fly Fishing , Epic , Fishing Report , Fly Fishing , Fly Patterns , Go Pro , Housatonic River , Trout , White Flies , Wulff Edit

That was the word I hear alot from people who fished this summers white fly hatch on CT's Housatonic River. The hatch began Around July 31 and lasted almost two weeks give or take a day. Fish were still coming up at around 8 pm even after the hatch had stopped. they get so conditioned to feeding on the size 10 mayflies every night. I was able to get in on the action 5 times. This year the water temps and weather cooperated, so trout were in the mix. Some years, the water temps are too warm for the trout, so smallies are the only option. My two best trout were a 17 inch bow, and a long skinny 20 inch brown. I had many smallies in the 2-3 lb range, and if you ever caught one on the fly rod, even the little 10 inch dinks can put up a great battle with their jumps, and head turning runs. We caught, chubs that were 10 inches, rock bass, and even panfish. The hatch comes off every summer, and at its peak, its actually a blizzard of white mayflies, just before dark. The hatch continues into dark, and catching fish in pitch black night is not easy task. Most nights we had a dry fly, with a dropper that contained a spinner, or an emerger, and doubles were common! I worte an article for Live The Wild Life 's online magazine on the hatch, but here is an exerpt from the article, followed by some pics and video. Enjoy!

The White Fly hatch is one we look forward to each summer. The excitement of countless numbers of mayflies, fish popping the surface, and constant hook ups, keeps anglers coming back night after night, each summer. It’s even better, as was the case this year, when the trout can be targeted safely because of the cooler water temps, but if it’s just all smallies, then that will be more than suffient. “That was awesome” was what my friend Dave Coppola (Whitewater Imagery Inc.) kept saying repeatedly as we walked back along the train tracks in total darkness above Church Pool one night. He was back at it 2 nights later, and he even beat me to the river that night, sticking some trout and bass! The hatch is good for the novice angler trying to get their feet wet dry fly fishing, but it can challenge the most experienced of anglers to land a hog smallie or trout! Don’t forget your headlamp, stay late, and turn it on to see the tremendous White Fly hatch! As I write this, I’m hoping we can get in just one more night of White Fly fishing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi0wa750Q3s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yannx66mkZQ