Things are really starting to heat up on East and we’re seeing the first big appearance of the Callibaetis that create excellent dry fly fishing opportunity throughout the summer. The first couple of weeks of Callibaetis activity is typically one of, if not the best time of the year to be on East. Hungry Rainbows and Browns tend to feed aggressively and consistently, taking little time to decipher the difference between artificial and natural flies. With a good selection of Callibaetis patterns, most anglers can reasonably expect relatively consistent dry fly fishing on most afternoons. A short dry dropper rig is a great way to find fish cruising close to the surface, gulping adults and grabbing emergers as they work their way up through the water column. As the hatch grows in strength, there can be opportunity to find fish gorging on a spinner fall in the mornings, but for now the indicator rig will be the move until the Callibaetis start hatching in the early afternoon. Chironomids, Balanced Leeches, and Callibaetis nymphs are the flies of choice when fishing the indicator. Wind drifting with leech patterns and Callibaetis nymphs is also a good way to find fish when they aren’t feeding on the surface.
Suggested Dries: Thorax Callibaetis #14-16, Hackle Stacker #14-16, Parachute Callibaetis #14-16, Tilt Wing Callibaetis #14-16, Ext Body Callibaetis #14-16, D&D Cripple #14-16, Almost Dun Callibaetis #14-16, Last Chance Cripple #14-16, Parachute Adams #14-16, Organza Spinner #14-16, Purple Haze #14-16, CDC Flying Ant #16
Suggested Nymphs: Black or Purple Zebra Midge #16-18, Black Ice Cream Cone #14, Chirono Cone #14-18, Juju Chironomid #14-16, Traffic Light #14-16, Tiger Midge #14-16, Trigger Callibaetis #14-16, Mighty May Callibaetis #14-16, Ostribaetis #14-16, Bird’s Nest Hare’s Ear #14-16, HE Depth Charge #14-16, Balanced Leech #10-14