Stoneflies Still Happening on Colorado's Gunnison

“The silt-laden water clears and as water levels fall, temperatures begin to rise. When the water temperature hits a steady 55 degrees, a massive bug known by entomologists as Pteronarcys californica — the ‘Giant Salmonfly’ — crawls out from underneath the rocks it has lived under for several years. It climbs out of the water where it breaks free of its aquatic body, sprouts wings and a brilliant orange torso and flies into the bushes for a massive mating ceremony.” Alex Taylor writes about the massive stonefly emergence in Colorado’s Black Canyon National Park.
But we particularly like the fly recommendation given by Nam Le in his report on the Cimarron Creek Web site:
“Went to the forks on Friday. It was great. Went into ute on monday. It was great. Went into duncan wednesday. It was great. Everything on top and there was a lot of big fish feeding on top. Just get down there, but load up on flies first. Flies/Methods Used: Chunks of foam. Tattered pieces of hair. Unraveled pieces of hackle. Anything that resembles a stone.”
For a truly artful perspective on the annual event, check out Felt Soul Media’s trailer from “The Hatch.”