Fly Hatches

Fly hatches is unlike most of the fly fishing sites that have info about aquatic entomology because it's run by an aquatic scientist Gene Macri.  Gene has done more work on more trout streams including the Pennsylvania Limestone Spring Creeks than most people could imagine.  This site will actually help you because as most of you have found out there is an absolute overload of misinformation and nonsense about all of the stuff in fly fishing including the insects and fly patterns.

Fishermen have always wondered about what the fish ate from as long as man has fished.  The most storied work is of course, Izaac Walton's the Compleat Angler written in 1653. The modern impetus for "Matching the Hatch" was started by the late Ernie Schwiebert.  In this photo below Ernie was giving a presentation at the Entomology Convention in Baltimore years ago.  Schwiebert laid the foundation of work for the rest of the so called information you now use.  Schwiebert's books including Matching the Hatch, and his newly re-released Nymphs are still worth reading and helpful. Most fly anglers get overwhelmed because they are bombarded with information from so many sectors that they end up getting confused. All fly anglers should remember one thing: if your approach, methods, and technique are wrong it won't matter whether your fly pattern is any good or not. I cannot stress this enough because it's great to have a good working knowledge of what the fish eat and how to tie the fly. But that will not make up for your other deficiencies as a fly fisherman.  Too many books, dvds, guides, websites, and instructors seem to pass over this in their rush to "sell" you an item or their service.

Breaking News: What's Happened to the Fly Hatches in 2012?

This video by Gene Macri, Aquatic Scientist, will give you some tips for the screwed up hatches caused by the extreme warming in the late winter and early spring months.

Enjoy the site.  It's here to help you understand what this piece of insanity we call fly fishing.  To contact us click here. Make sure you sign up for our Fly Fisher's Entomology Journal.  It's free and will really help you to understand and use insects to your advantage in fly fishing.