Let the 4th be with You

I know it's kind of a cheesy title. Many people across the country are traveling this Fourth of July and fishermen will flock to their nearby streams to catch some fish. There will be lots of men and women getting up early and heading to the stream. With so many people, there will be lots of competition and lack of space. I've already had my own experience with that.

I decided to take off work on the Friday before Independence Day to fish in the afternoon. I was sure the crowds of fishermen wouldn't be out until dusk. After all, the Fourth of July next Friday, still one week away. I got to my usual fishing spot around 2:00 pm and it was already taken. Looking for spots up and down the road, I could find a place where I could fish. After searching for about 30 minutes I had given up and found no location. I did find a few spots that I could use in the future though.

Don't underestimate the number of people that could be fishing, they all have the same idea: get out before the crowds. But so many people go early that they become the crowds. Don't let it get to you, be patient and don't try to push people out of their space.

So let the 4th be with you, but don't make it sour for everybody else.

The Famed Hex Hatch

Hexagenia limbata - The Hex

It's coming soon to a stream near you!

...or not

Southeast Pennsylvania may not have a hex hatch - you may not have even heard of the hex fly.

Hex is short for Hexagenia limbata. It's a fly known for its major hatch in the midwest. It hatches late at night between June and September. The large hatches most know usually occur in late June and early May. Because the hex are so large, they almost always bring large brown trout to the surface. This makes the hex hatch a prime time to catch fish and it brings tons of fishermen to streams.

Some hatches are so large that they appear on

Radar image showing hex hatch on Mississippi River

radar. In the radar image to the right, on May 30. 2010, the hex hatch on the Mississippi River was so dense that the waves produced by radar bounced off the flies and went back to the radar.

Each year around the Fourth of July, I take a trip to the AuSable River in Northern Michigan, just after the hex hatch is over. My father used to go out at night and trick a few trout on a hex about a week afterwards. Sometimes he'd catch a few nice brown trout.

It's an amazing feeling when these giant mayflies are all in the air and landing on your arm, your rod, reel, and everything around you. So, it should be on your bucket list to go to a midwestern stream and experience the hatch for yourself.

Summer Heat is Just About Here

It is almost unbelievable that there are trout streams in southeastern Pennsylvania, so close to downtown Philadelphia. But there are downsides...

As we head into the latter part of June, temperatures definitely start rising. And with that comes warmer water temperatures too. Some streams can get into the 70s. This is not good for trout, and then the smallmouths and panfish take over. In mid-June of 2014, our first heat wave had air temperatures in the 90s, and we will soon see water temperatures over 70 in many streams.

Once June arrives, many large fly hatches are over; the cream cahills and slate drakes hatch in early to mid June. You'll have to wait until August for the next big hatch: Trico.

July is probably the lowest point in trout fishing for southeastern Pennsylvanians. Most trout have died off after the warm water temperatures and fly hatches are mainly over. There many be a few holdover trout, but they are struggling to hold on.

So if you're heading out to a stream in Southeastern Pennsylvania, beware, the fish, the flies, and the water, is changing.