Happy Staint Patricks Day! In honor of such a great holiday which so adequately blends drinking and comradery….much like a good day on the water, we decided to profile the green drake.
Western Green Drakes are crawler mayflies that hand out in fast moving riffles and run where a nice current keeps oxygen and nutrients in the plenty. The are tough, strong, strongman types that will rarely get pulled away by the current and set adrift. Many people don’t fish these nymphs until almost the start of emerging.
In most rivers and streams they get close to adulthood (around May or June) they will begin a migration to more relaxed currents and mid flows. This is when they are going to be found drifting down stream right in to a hungry trouts waiting mouth. Even as the duns begin to come on the scene the fish will continue the smorgasbord of large healthy nymphs.
Even the dimmest trout in the flow catch on to the duns and start keeping a watchful eye for these large treats with slow drying wings and long float times.
Key Sizes
Nymphs 6 – 12 in Runs and Riffles
Emergers 6 – 12 in Runs
Dun 6 – 12 in Slow current