The Slate Drake

Dry fly fishermen thinking about the Slate Drake say it is a late spring hatch, late May or early June. However, modern studies have found that the Slate Drake also reappears in the fall with a second generation of flies in September thru early October. This hatch can be a blessing to fly fishermen starved for a hatch of large mayflies after a long summer of fishing tricos and size 28 ants.

The Slate Drake is also interesting as it is one of the first mayflies to appear as a stream returns to fertile water after being poisoned by pollution or acids or other contamination. Slate Drakes emerge near the shore, possibly to avoid predators and crawl onto a rock or branch to emerge from a nymph case and become a dun.

A rainy or overcast day tends to make the flies more available to the trout and should be looked for by fall anglers. Although this fly can be quite large [#12] in the spring, in fall try a size 14 or even 16 to match the second generation of summertime runts much like the second generation of Blue wing olives and other flies that have two cycles in one year. There are many patterns available for this fly .here are two .

Hook: #12-14-16 Dry
Tail: Med. Dun Hackle or Deerhair
Wing: Grey Elk
Hackle: Dark Brown
Body: Grey Poly Yarn or other dubbing

The Irresistible

Originated as a trout fly during the latter half of the1930s by the late Joe Messinger, Sr. of Morgantown, West Virginia who referred to it as a Deer Hair Drake. The name Irresistible was born when a fly customer, Ken Lockwood, reordered more of Messinger,s deer-hair drake flies, describing them in his letter as "irresistible. Messinger,s original pattern had hackle of dyed claret and a body consisting of a top half of dun deer hair and a bottom half of white deer hair, an effect which can be achieved by stacking the hair.

Hook: #12-14-16 Dry
Tail: Brown Bucktail
Body: Spun clipped Deerhair
Wing: Natural Bucktail
Hackle: Med. Blue Dun

Information and various resources from the library of Harvey Roberson