Hatch Chart for Eastern Trout-stream Insects
Hatch charts can help you pick out the appropriate flies and tackle that you are likely to need for an upcoming fly fishing trip. They should never be taken as gospel, but rather as a general guide to expected aquatic insect activity. Weather and water conditions can cause significant changes in the timing and duration of the hatches, but in the Eastern United States they usually happen in the same order each year.
Click on the links for each fly to take you to our favorite recommendations for imitating a specific insect. You can then purchase the right flies for a hatch, or if you are a fly tier, you will find the pattern listing for these flies. Note that some of the patterns are offered in different sizes and colors; choose the sizes listed on the hatch chart and the most appropriate color for the best match.
Your best source for current information will be the Orvis Fishing Reports
Eastern & Mid-Western Fly Hatches |
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Common
Name (& Latin Name) |
Fly Size |
Recommended
Fly (click on fly name to view) |
Mar |
Apr
|
May |
June |
July |
Aug |
Sept |
Oct |
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Midge (Chironomidae) |
16-26 |
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Quill Gordon (E. pleuralis) |
12-14 |
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Blue Wing Olive (B. vagans) |
18-20 |
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Little Mahogany (P. adoptiva) |
16-20 |
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Little Black Caddis (C. aterrima) |
16-18 |
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Hendrickson (E. subvaria) |
14-16 |
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March Brown (S. vicarium) |
10-12 |
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Eastern Gray Drake (S. quebecensis) |
10-12 |
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Large Sulphur (E. invaria) |
14-16 |
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Little Sulphur
(E. dorothea) |
16-20 |
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Light Cahill (S. candense) |
14-16 |
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Gray Fox (S. fuscum) |
12-14 |
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Little Yellow Stonefly
(A. chloroperla) |
12-14 |
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Eastern Green Drake (E. guttulata) |
8-10 |
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Isonychia (I. bicolor) |
12-14 |
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Brown Drake (E. simulans) |
8-10 |
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Hexagenia (H. limbata) |
6-8 |
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Yellow Drake (E. varia) |
12-14 |
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Golden Drake (Potomanthus distinctus) |
8 |
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Slate Wing Olive (E. lata/attenuata) |
16-18 |
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Trico (T. stygiatus) |
22-24 |
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Tiny Blue Winged Olive
(P. anoka) |
22-24 |
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White Mayfly (E. leukon) |
14-16 |