When the mountain trout streams hold a water temperature of 40 degrees for four consecutive days the fishing becomes good. At this temperature the aquatic insects become active and the metabolic needs for food on the part of the trout increase greatly.
The Epeorus pleuralis are the first major mayflies to hatch on many Eastern mountain streams. As these nymphs reach their full size many of them move to the lower section of the riffles. They prepare to hatch by locating on the downstream side of the flat stones. This is one of the few mayflies that pops its wings from its wing pad and swims to the surface of the stream to become the adult dun with its wings fully extended.
In order to match this with my fly, I tie my Mr. Rapidan Emerger with an extended wing lying back over the body of the fly. I fish this upstream on my Murray’s Trout Nymph Leader 9ft 5X by casting it right below the riffles. In some cases a dead drift retrieve is most productive but in some cases a very slow six inch fly lifting move every foot is most effective.
The Murray’s Fly Shop Indicators built into my Trout Nymph Leader is a great help in detecting the strikes. If it slows down or stops in its drift I set the hook quickly.
This technique is so effective that often I can catch several trout from the head of each pool.
Be sure to check out my latest article on Mountain Trout Fishing where I go in-depth on the different hatches and the flies we use to match the hatch.