- Home Waters, No. 3
- Home Waters, No. 2
- Home Waters, No. 1
Stream Savvy with Dave McMullen
Grannoms: The First Major Hatch
Easter 2003: As I peered out the window at the home pool on Six Springs, it appeared as though Bob Freedline was fishing in a blizzard, his rod bent and the water covered with dimples from the snow. Wrong! The blizzard was a hatch of grannom caddis, and the dimples on the water were rising trout.
I consider grannoms to be the first major hatch of the year on many streams here in central Pennsylvania. Yes, we will enjoy the olives through March and April.
The expected date of the grannom emergence is typically about April 13, but I have seen them as early as the April 3 and as late as the April 20. Like most things in fishing, it is weather dependent. The main emergence will take place between 8 and 11 a.m. The rule of thumb: the warmer the air, the earlier they hatch. After a day of hatching, there will be literally thousands of flies in the trees and around the water¹s surface. Early in the hatch the fish will eagerly take advantage of these fluttering flies that find their way onto the water throughout the day; but as the hatch progresses, the fish do less freelancing and confine most of their feeding to the morning hatch or the evening egg-laying flight.
You should see the first egg-laying flights by day three. The egg-laying flights can be absolutely amazing and produce great dry-fly fishing. The sight of millions of flies traveling upstream in unison is enough to make me just stop fishing and watch the show (not too long, but for awhile). During really nasty weather I have seen egg-laying flights as early as noon (old man weather sticks his nose into everything); but most days, look for this activity around 4 p.m.
Many simple patterns work well during the grannom hatch. The patterns I use most are an Adams, an Elk-Hair Caddis with a black, peacock, or dark olive body for dry flies. I will use dark-bodied wet flies with a mottled-brown wing, soft hackles in similar colors, or black or olive caddis pupae. On most days, you can catch more fish underneath than on the top, but the fish that you catch on dries may just be enough! Penns Creek has sparse grannom hatch; Spruce Creek has a good hatch; the grannoms on the Little J are phenomenal; and Yellow Creek is also reported to get a good grannom hatch.
