What Fish Eat

Aquatic insects make up the majority of a fish's diet. The four key insect orders (listed first and not including Streamers or Terrestrials) that emerge from streams and lakes are:

Mayflies Caddisflies Midges Stoneflies Streamers Terrestrials

Mayflies Important to Fly Fishing

When fly fishing in the Western U.S., the angler can typically rely on three species to pattern mayflies. These commonly used mayfly patterns are:

Blue Wing Olive Pale Morning Dun Trico

Pale Morning Dun Mayflies

This crawler, pale-yellow mayfly is commonly referred to as a PMD. PMD hatches can occur in the morning, early afternoon, or evening and it's not unusual to have both morning and evening hatches going off on the same day. The hatch season begins around early June and lasts as late as September, depending on the location. This is often the dominant hatch where and when it occurs.

Pale Morning Dun Nymph Imitation

Pattern Name	Color	Hook Size
Flash Back Hare's Ear Nymph	Tan Body	# 16
Hare's Ear Nymph	Tan, Brown Body	# 16
Pheasant Tail Nymph	Green Body	# 20

Pale Morning Dun Emerger

Pattern Name	Color	Hook Size	Thumbnail Image
Pale Morning Dun Cripple	Pale Yellow / Light Brown Body	# 16	photo coming soon
Pale Morning Dun, CDC Biot Emerger	Light Olive Body	# 18

Pale Morning Dun

Pattern Name	Color	Hook Size	Thumbnail Image
Pale Morning Dun	Yellow Body	# 18
Sparkle Dun	Pale Yellow Body	# 18	photo coming soon

Pale Morning Dun Spinner

Pattern Name	Color	Hook Size	Thumbnail Image
Rusty Spinner	Olive Body	# 18
Poly Wing Mayfly Spinner	Light Brown Body	# 18	photo coming soon

The Ecological Angler