Quill Gordons (Epeorus pleuralis) begin hatching in April just as the Little Blue Quill hatch starts to wane. For a period of time, both Quill Gordon and Little Blue Quill mayflies will be on the water at the same time, and you may see duns and spinners o
We have a friend, Phil, who only fishes dry flies. It doesn’t matter to Phil if he catches a fish or not, he simply likes to stay on top. Mention a favorite nymph pattern and he’s likely to give you a hard stare and heaven forbid you show him a Squirmy Wormie or a Mop Fly, he will dish out a verbal lesson (more of a rant) about fishing the dark side.
Phil is lucky enough to live in a beautiful streamside cabin on an eastern Pennsylvania freestone trout stream, so when the trout are rising, he’s living the dream. When they’re not rising he still strings up his favorite bamboo fly rod, ties on a Crackleback, his favorite attractor fly, and takes his rod for a walk. Phil is a retired three-leaf U.S. Navy admiral and is living everyone’s dream retirement. He has the luxury of being there when it’s happening. And if it’s not happening? Well, there’s always tomorrow.
Pennsylvania winters can be cold, and dry-fly fishing at that time is sparse. If you are lucky, there may be enough adult Little Black Stoneflies to bring a fish to the surface on a warm afternoon, but that’s like winning the lottery. So Phil bides his time, takes his rod for walks, and dreams about springtime and the quills. The quills are Little Blue Quills and Quill Gordons, the first major mayfly hatches to usher in our spring trout season.
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Chasing Chainmail: Gar on Fly Tackle
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