Salmonflies

The salmonfly hatch is the most anticipated event on Western rivers — a brief window, typically May through June depending on elevation and latitude, when giant Pteronarcys stoneflies migrate to streamside vegetation to mate. During a concentrated salmonfly hatch, fish abandon their normal caution entirely. Trout that require precise presentations during normal conditions will move several feet to eat a large foam pattern drifted near the bank.

Timing the salmonfly hatch requires local knowledge and flexibility — it moves upstream with water temperature, progressing at a pace of several miles per day. Being in the right river reach at peak emergence is the challenge. Having the right flies when you get there shouldn't be. We carry Stone Creek's Godzilla Foam Salmonfly, Improved Sofa Pillow, Bullet Head Orange Salmon Fly, and large foam attractor variants in sizes appropriate for the real insect (typically hook sizes 4 through 8).