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 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:

 

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 Thumbnail Image
Flash Back Hare's Ear Nymph Tan Body # 16
Flash Back Hare's Ear Nymph
Hare's Ear Nymph Tan, Brown Body # 16
Hare's Ear Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph Green Body # 20
Pheasant Tail Nymph

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, CDC Biot Emerger

Pale Morning Dun

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

Photo of October Caddisfly by P. Michael Carl © The Ecological Angler