After dark adventures: Prime time summer fly fishing in the Adirondacks

Major insect hatches make for epic night time fly fishing

By Geoff Schaake

The Adirondack fly fishing calendar lays out before us in much the same way that nature presents itself — not in set 28-31 day increments but in its own rhythm. We change tackle and technique based on what food sources are available to our quarry. Some are fleeting and last moments, and some last for long stretches. In spring, it’s the long-awaited Hendrickson mayfly. It hatches on pleasant sunny days in May starting about 3 p.m. and lasting until about 6. This mayfly is a gentleman’s hatch, with charm and rhythm, and presents itself nicely on postcards about our sport.  

Then there are the Adirondacks around the Fourth of July.  While family barbecues and fireworks are the highlights of most people’s evenings, Adirondack fly fishermen and women have some fireworks of their own to look forward to. Two eagerly awaited evening events are taking place as I write this, and the trick is, they’re easily missed.  If you have an early bedtime, you are missing out. 

Zebra caddis: When tiger lilies bloom

The first starts around the last week of June, as the tiger lilies start to bloom on the roadsides. Zebra caddis (Macrostemum zebratum), known locally as alder flies, emerge from pupal cases spun from silk and attached to rocks on the river bottoms, swim to the surface and morph into winged adults on the surface.  It only takes a moment to dry off their wings and they’re off in search of mates. As caddis flies go, they are big, 1/2-inch  long fluttering creatures that can be mistaken for moths.  They have tan striped wings that lay tented over their abdomens and dark tan or even orange bodies.  They are calorie-packed fish snacks and are eaten by just about everything that swims so a good day of surface fishing smallmouth bass can be had as well as trout.

Fishing zebra caddis means watching for splashy rises

Emergences usually start in the late afternoon to evening.  Look for splashy rises from fish as they chase the zebra caddis to the surface and once the hatch has been going for a few days, a large elk hair caddis or stimulator can be randomly cast in all the likely places.  The fish will be on the lookout. If you are unsure of whether there are caddis about, a quick shake of the streamside alders will let you know where they received that nickname.  Without divulging any secrets, zebra caddis hatch across the Midwest and up into New England but look for them locally on the upper Hudson/Indian River system as well as the West Canada Creek and surrounding areas.

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Monster mayflies emerge after dark during hex hatches

Coincidentally, there is a second hatch of large insects happening in the late evenings on certain lakes and ponds.  The largest mayflies of all, the Hexagenia limbata,  “hex” or “fishfly” as it is known, are getting ready to make an appearance.  The hex nymphs burrow deep in the mud of certain lakes and ponds in the Adirondacks and hatch into subamigos or “duns” on the surface at dark or shortly after.  After flying off into the trees they transform again into amigos or “spinners,” with elongated tails, long dark bodies and clear wings. They can measure an inch and a half in length.  Sometime in the night they take to flight again, mate, lay eggs on the surface of the water and die. If you’ve gotten gas at night in Lake Placid, you’ve seen these hexes on the lights and sometimes covering the gas pumps.

Hex hatch fishing requires patience and persistence

The most successful technique for fly fishing a hex hatch in the Adirondacks is patience.  A canoe or kayak is helpful, and floating in the dark listening for the splashes of rising fish is the norm. Success favors the bold, and the first fisherman to go home loses. Cast in the general direction of the noises and you are in the zone. Set the hook if you hear a rise near where you think your fly is. If you’re lucky, you may be into your personal best.  It may not be a trout — everything that swims in the lake will be on the prowl for these large bugs.

Where to find hex and caddis hatches

Look for hexes in Lake Placid, Mirror Lake and Thirteenth Lake as well as countless ponds.  If you don’t go and take a look, you won’t know.  If you get there early, a hex nymph or woolly bugger fished or trolled on a sinking line can bring aggressive strikes.

Summer trout fishing and the 68-degree rule

A note about summer trout fishing in the Adirondacks: Trout have trouble in waters warmer than 68 degrees Fahrenheit as they hold less oxygen and the stress of fighting and being released can kill.  Other stresses include weakened immune systems making them more vulnerable to diseases or parasites, not to mention becoming less active and limiting feeding to conserve energy.  Bring a thermometer with you and practice responsible angling. This is primarily for rivers as they tend to only spend a short time on the surface of lakes to feed, spending time in the deeper, cooler water in the summer. Events like the hex hatch certainly make it worth their while to head up top. 

Photo at top: Hexegenia limbata adult spinner on Thirteenth Lake at night. Courtesy of Geoff Schaake.