THE GUIDE’S ANGLE

Spring Hooch Hatches

Contributed By: Chris Scalley River Through Atlanta

Spring is a special time of year for fly fisherman, as this is the most likely time of year trout can be consistently caught on dry flies. Watching a trout rise to the surface to your carefully presented dry fly is such a cool visual experience. On the Chattahoochee Tailwater your primary hatch will be caddisflies in April and May, but if you venture downstream to the Delayed Harvest stretch below Morgan Falls, there are multiple species of aquatic bugs in the Caddis and Mayfly families. Keep in mind that many factors come into play when this special surface feeding activity takes place. The most important factor is the stage of the lifecycle of that species, which will be the adults, either laying eggs or dying. Laying eggs and dying stages of both species occur on the surface and sometimes subsurface. Caddisfly adult females actually swim through the water column to attach their egg sack to the stream bed so dry flies can work during the egg laying process when she lands or emerges to exit the surfaces tension. Caddisfly adults live for up to 8 weeks along the banks of the river, where they can feed on nectar

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from spring flowers and where adult mayflies live for only 48 hours. The key to targeting dry fly action on the Hooch is to make sure the river is low and clear, so don’t forget to find out when the Army Corps of Engineers is releasing high water the day before and the day of your fishing trip. Also generally speaking “the most pleasant weather part of the day” is best, so in early spring during cooler weather, mid-day can be good and then later in the spring early morning or later evenings can be productive. Because we lack the high densities of biomass found in more classic trout waters, anglers need to log in time on the river during these spring time windows, let the stars align, and who knows you might time it perfectly for some dry fly action this Spring!