It’s been a long winter. If you have been lucky enough to get out and do some fly-fishing, it probably wasn’t with a dry fly. Your shoulder is sore from casting that streamer rod and heavy sink-tip line. Every now and then, you notice a fish rise to a midge and you start to get excited about the first major insect emergence of the season, the Salmon Fly hatch, on the Henry’s Fork.
It starts to happen sometime in late May when the elk start migrating back to the high country and the bears are waking up from a long winter slumber. Most of the snow is gone by now and the runoff is in full swing in just about every other river in the area. The Henry’s Fork is clearing up but still running high as those big, black nymphs start crawling for the bank. The water temperature is finally at the magical fifty-two degrees. The hatch begins down low in the river system and migrates up river as conditions allow. Some years the hatch moves miles a day and other years it stalls as a cold snap hits. You are reminded how the weather can change so quickly in the greater Yellowstone area.
One thing is for sure, if you have ever hit this hatch just right, it is something you will remember for a long time. You will be casting a dry fly the size of a sparrow as hard as you can against the bank. Big rainbows gorge themselves on the plentiful insects. In our terms this is like being on a veggie diet for six months and now you are faced with a steady supply of cheeseburgers delivered to you on a silver platter. The first time you see the aggressive strike, you set the hook as much out of self-defense as from the guide yelling “take ‘em”!
It seems like every creature in the area is excited about the hatch. The Western Tanager is just a yellow and red streak along the bank as he collects the adult flies drying out in the trees. The seagulls above are the best indication you are in the heart of the hatch as they pick off the adults flying about tree level. Occasionally, you come around the bend and glimpse a black bear along the bank also gorging on the easy meal. Even the bull moose, still in velvet, seems content just to relax in the open meadow.
It is hard to look up from all the excitement on the water. But if you need to give your arm a rest, take a look around. This is what you came here for, isn’t it?
