Hatch Table Notes

The meaning of some of the headings are not as simple as they might appear. Here is an explanation of what they signify.

Stage

"Stage" refers to the state of the insect's life cycle, which varies depending on the scientific order. Orders that undergo complete metamorphosis, such as midges and caddisflies, pass successively through these stages: egg, larva, pupa, adult. Orders that undergo incomplete metamorphosis, such as mayflies, stoneflies, dragonflies, and damselflies, pass through these stages: egg, nymph (or larva), adult. Mayflies have two adult stages: dun and spinner.

Pattern

Click on a pattern name to see how it's tied, when to use it, and how to use it.

Size

Hook sizes are loosely based on Tiemco (TMC) hooks. There is no standardization among hook manufacturers, so a TMC size 16 dry fly hook is not quite the same as a size 16 hook from Dai Riki.

Color

Color is an imprecise and variable specification, at best. Furthermore, it can vary within an insect species depending on time of year, water conditions, weather, etc. An insect's color might even change as it ages. Toss in the effect of atmospheric conditions, optics, the transmission of light through water, color shifts due to depth, and other factors such as how trout perceive and interpret color, and you might feel like throwing up your hands and taking up golf as your recreation. When in doubt, capture a natural insect and compare it (wet) with your fly (also wet). Then console yourself with the knowledge that your fly's size and presentation are more important than its color.

For more information on insect colors, see the Dave Huges/Rick Hafele article Color in Insects.

Presentation

Click on the presentation name for details of how to present the fly. The presentations listed here are standards. Sometimes there are sublte nuances or little tricks that are specific to a fly pattern or an insect, so it's always a good idea to check the web pages for the fly pattern and for the insect to get the whole story.

Where

"Where" means the type of water where this stage of this insect is usually found. While it may sometimes be found in other types of water, this is where fly anglers should concentrate most of their efforts.

1. Riffles. Areas where a river flows over shallow rocks. The river may only be a few inches to a foot and a half deep. The rocks create turbulence that puts oxygen into the water--a condition favored by many insect species.
2. Below riffles. Often, the water deepens and slows below a riffle. Insects that live in the riffle are often dislodged and drift into the slower deeper water, and trout often wait for them there. At hatch time, emerging riffle-dwelling insects are often swept into this area and are eaten there.
3. Flats. Shallow parts of the river where the water flows smoothly, with the surface unbroken by whitewater.
4. Runs. Deeper areas of the river where the water flows smoothly.
5. Backeddies. When a river flows past a point of land, it often creates a backeddy downstream. In the backeddy, the current sweeps in towards the riverbank, then flows upstream to the point. This creates are large, slow-moving whirlpool that traps drifting insects and other food.
6. Bankside. Areas of a river that are near the bank, usually overshadowed by alder trees, grass, or other vegetation.
7. Midriver. The part of the river that isn't bankside.
8. Boulder field. An area of many large rocks, usually the size of basketballs or bigger.