Alone with the Sulfurs
The hot day melted away into a cooler evening. A front was coming and the temperatures were going to drop. Driving along the river I saw car after car in pull-offs.
“People still fishing,” I thought.
No matter, I was scouting and wasn’t sure if I would wet a line yet. Besides I wanted to check the middle section of the river. I hadn’t noticed anyone in the river fishing yet. But still, there were cars in every pull-off. I reached the section of the river I wanted to scout. As I approached the parking area, I was shocked there wasn’t a single car there, I wondered why.
The river revealed an absence of activity. The pool looked perfect. A good flow, calm with a nice flow over a drop-off. I waited awhile. Still nothing. The perfect looking pool didn’t have any bug or trout activity. I thought back to many good evenings fishing this pool with hatches. But not tonight. Nothing was going to happen. I walked upriver to another section of water. It also lacked any sign of an impending hatch. I decided to drive further upstream.
I drove up the road looking through the windshield. It was like watching an old favorite movie, the screen playing out each bend in the road. I glanced at an approaching pool, a fly fisherman was fishing it. I decided to stop anyway. As I slowed to pull in, I saw not one car but four.
“Busy,” I thought. “I’ll just check it anyway.”
There was a group of picnickers at a table. I walked upstream. I reached the run above the pool. It was a long run above the riffles. Nobody was there. I sat down on a root to take in the show. An insect fluttered by. There was a bird on the opposite bank. Then a rise…
“Pretty splashy must be a caddis,” I said out loud even though no one was there.
I got a feeling that something was going to happen. I walked back to the truck to suit up. As luck would have it, everyone else packed up and pulled out while I adorned the fishing garb. I chose my T&T 3wt rod, a great rod for fishing dries.
Back at the river, a fish rose and then another. Both rises were splashy and aggressive. However, I also saw a spinner fly by. Not convinced it was caddis, I tied on a rusty spinner. I ran the spinner pattern down some runs and over rising fish. I had a take and missed the set. Another miss a few drifts later. I began to doubt that they were feeding on spinners. The splashy rise could be emerging mayflies but which one? Then I saw a sulfur dun lift off the water right in front of me. The air had a mix of bright yellow duns and pale spinners. The trout were definitely eating the emerging sulfurs.
Sulfurs are related to the famous Hendrickson. One of the few mayflies that actively wiggle towards the surface to hatch. This generates an aggressive rise when the trout are focused on emerging sulfurs. The trout are trying to intercept the insect before it gets off the water and the take is more aggressive. I cut off the spinner and tied on a ½ & ½ sulfur emerger. This pattern was a combination, half nymph and half dun.
My second cast resulted in a hard hit and a nice brown trout. I continued to work upstream in the fading light. I pulled several trout out of the head of a small current tongue. Nothing exceptionally large but all a good size. I worked the bend. This section of water rarely produces much. It’s too fast and lacks a gravel bottom. Not many bugs to eat.
The light was fading fast and I wanted to hit a better spot. Skipping some water, I moved into a tricky pool. Faster water entering the pool split and created two fast tongues, both hit a rock wall and is diverted abruptly. This creates major drag issues with the drift. I saw rises…splashy and aggressive just like before. Sticking with the emerger, I made a cast. In the low light, I lost track of the fly and missed a take. The next drift connected on a good brown. I saw a rise in the slack water between the tongues. I dropped the fly in. It sat. I waited. Growing impatient, I started looking for the next rising trout. That’s when a big brown hammered the fly. Instinctively I set the hook and the rod bowed. It bowed a lot…then nothing. The trout broke the 5x tippet. I didn’t react fast enough to cushion the hard take and the trout was gone.
Sulfur Hatches
The sulfurs are a mayfly family group that generally has a yellow body but may have orange mixed in. In some waters, they are the most important species of the season. This family group is called the Ephemerella and includes the famous Hendricksons or subvaria but also the Sulfurs. The rotunda is the largest species that anglers call sulfurs, some are a size 12 hook but most are a 14. The invaria and dorothea are smaller, sizes 14 and 16 but may be an 18 hook for the smallest. Just match the most abundant size and try to get the color right. Some sulfurs have a lot of orange in them. Others are a pale yellow. With all the variables, it pays to have some variety in your fly box.
Fishing the hatch means dealing with spinners and emerging duns at the same time. Sulfurs will swim toward the surface more aggressively than many mayflies. The takes can be aggressive too. Sometimes you will see aggressive boils in the water. The trout are taking the rising nymph before it hits the surface. If a surface rise is splashy, similar to a caddis take, they are eating emergers. Sipping rises are the spinners or possibly duns.
Conclusion
I fished the evening until dark. I couldn’t see the fly anymore. It didn’t matter the hatch was over, the sulfurs were gone, and the trout seemed to have disappeared. All the rises I was seeing stopped and the world was quiet and peaceful. I was alone as I walked out. I had just enough light to reach the truck without pulling out my headlamp. Even though I was alone now, I spent my time with the sulfurs. With their help, I had landed more trout in the last hour than I would have all day. It was a good evening of fishing…alone with the sulfurs.