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Mike Holt
Member
USA
2807 Posts |
 Posted - 05/26/2005 : 6:08:28 PM
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Is that a Hendrickson or a Quill Gordon? I asked myself that often this weekend at Grand Lake Stream. When I got there last Saturday I heard several people say Hendricksons are coming off and sure enough I saw mayflies on the water. But I don’t think they were Hendricksons. I think they were Quill Gordons. Here’s why.
The mayflies I saw were popping off the water right in the middle of riffle water; they would show, drift a short way and take flight. I thought that odd for Hendricksons because what I read tells me the Hendricksons migrate to softer flows and eddies to hatch out.
Another clue was the water and air temperature. I got 48 degrees when I tested the water and 48 to 53 degrees is the normal range or Quill Gordons. Hendricksons don’t normally hatch until the water is 50 degrees plus. So I set out to capture one and check the tails – two means Quill Gordon – three means Hendrickson. Easy, right? Wrong. I never did catch one.
However, the next day I noticed something else that made me think they were Quill Gordons. There were mayflies coming down to the water – landing – and taking off from the water after floating a couple of yards. It seemed somewhere I had read about that behavior being characteristic of Quill Gordons.
I checked my Tom Ames book when I got back to the cabin and didn’t find any comment about the landing and taking off. When I got back to the shop here yesterday I pulled out the big guns. I got my copy of Mayflies by Malcom Knopp and Robert Cormier. It you want to know something about mayflies you can generally find it in that book.
Sure enough there it was on page 167 under Spinners here’s what is says:
“After fertilization the females withdraw to streamside vegetation for a brief rest to allow the eggs to ripen before flying upstream to begin the egg-laying act. To oviposit, the females briefly contact the water to release a few eggs from the egg sac, and then rise six to ten feet above the water before repeating the action. During periods of cooler weather, female spinners, such as those of the species E. pleuralis, may rest briefly on the surface film after each round of egg-laying. The spinner fall occurs in the early afternoon for spring-emerging species, whereas summer spinner falls occur during the late afternoon and evening.”
That for me clinched it. Even though I never did catch one of the mayflies I’m sure they were Quill Gordons not Hendrickson. Everything fits: the right type of water, the right water temperature, the right size, the right color and the egg laying method all points to Quill Gordons.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
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el Gordito
Frequent Contributor
488 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2005 : 6:51:02 PM
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| Ah but, Mr. Holt, did the famously discerning GLS landlocks rise to your perfectly tied immitation "Quill Gordon Formerly Known as Hendrickson" or where you cold and wet and skunked like those of us you left behind milling about in your shop watching the water rise yet again around Mill Island? |
It may be my purpose in life to simply serve as a warning to others. |
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calvin kidder
Frequent Contributor
USA
985 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2005 : 6:52:30 PM
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| well at least youi caught a couple of salmon so i heard tight lines |
calvin kidder |
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Mike Holt
Member
USA
2807 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2005 : 7:28:47 PM
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El Gordito,
But of course they came to my fly. I had to use a soft hackle emerger not a dry but they indeed did take notice of my fly.
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muddyboots
Active Member
USA
68 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2005 : 10:32:23 PM
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Nice fish Mike! And great work on the bug ID. Now about that landing net...Is that a new one? I see you've slipped your fingers in the "seine" material. Is this the same net from last fall's pics?
Tom |
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Mike Holt
Member
USA
2807 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2005 : 10:04:32 AM
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Muddyboots,
Yep, that's the same net I had last fall and I'll be using it for a long time. It's a great net and the seine feature works. No longer do I wish I had remembered to bring my seine - it's always there.
I did an article last year on the www.flyfishingmainerivers.com page titled Nets, Nets, Nets and when I wrote it I was using a net with a rubber bag. I found the rubber bag to be very stiff and didn't like it so I tried this one and love it. |
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calvin kidder
Frequent Contributor
USA
985 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2005 : 3:01:47 PM
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real nice fish mike hope to get one of them myself the 8or 9 of june tight lines |
calvin kidder |
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