Wisconsin Fly Fisher - Fly Fishing for Trout

Northern Wisconsin Trout Stream Fly Hatches

Below are listed the most common Wisconsin mayfly hatches I have fished over the years. This is mainly the northwest Wisconsin and central Wisconsin trout streams (such as the Namekagon River, Bois Brule, White River, Wolf, Phestigo, Pine and more).

The X's represent individual weeks within a given month and the approximate emergence time for each mayfly. The hatch dates will vary from year to year depending on the weather conditions, seasonal climate changes, type of stream and depending where the trout stream is located within Wisconsin.

Note: The Northern Wisconsin drought and warmer Spring weather with fast snow melt is causing the hatches to come off earlier than they use too. This can also cause hatches not last as long. Sudden spurts of ooler weather may delay hatches. All of this makes it difficult to predict from year to year when a specific hatch will occur.

Northern Wisconsin Freestone Trout Stream Mayfly Hatches

Common Name	Scientific Name	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep
Blue Wing Olives (BWO)⁽²⁾	Baetis	--XX	XXXX	XXXX	XXXX			XXXX
Hendrickson	Ephemerella subvaria		--XX	XX--
Sulphurs / PMD	Ephemerella invaria / rotunda / excrucians			--XX	X---
Sulphurs /PMD	Ephemerella dorothea			--XX	XX---
Gray Drake	Siphlonurus alternatus			--XX	XX---
Little Dark Hendrickson	Ephemerella needhami			---X	XX-
Sulphur	Epeorus vitreus			---X	XX-
March Brown / Gray Fox	Maccaffertium vicarium (formally Stenonema)			---X	XXX-
Armored Speckled-Wing	Baetisca laurentina			---X	XXX-
Light Cahill	Stenacron / Maccaffertium (several species)				XXX-
Darth Vader	Serretella deficiens				XXX-
Brown Drake⁽¹⁾	Ephemera simulans				XXX-
Hex Hatch Michigan Caddis⁽¹⁾	Hexagenia limbata				--XX	X---
Mahogany Dun	Isonychia bicolor				---X	XXXX	XX--
Tricos	Tricorythodes minutus					-XXX
Large Rusty Spinner⁽¹⁾	Hexagenia atrocaudata					--XX	X---
Little Yellow Quill	Leucrocuta hebe					---X	XXX-
White Fly⁽¹⁾	Ephoron leukon						XXX-

Notes:
(1) - indicates mayfly nymphs that burrow in sand, silt and muck. The densest hatches for these insects will occur in those stretches of the stream.

(2) - there are several mayflies species that all fall under Blue Wing Olives (BWO) and hatch at different times during the season. Some I see are too sporatic to really get the trout's attention.

Northern Wisconsin Trout Stream Caddis Hatches (Sedge)

I don't know the scientific names for most of the dominant caddisfly hatches, but do not under-estimate the importance of these little fluttering critters. On many of the Wisconsin freestone streams that I frequently fly fish for trout there are numerous caddisfly hatches that trigger heavy trout feeding. Some of my favorite caddisfly hatches are the Grannom (Brachycentrus), Green Sedge (Rhyacophilia), Dark Green Sedge (?), Little Black Sedge (Chimarra), Spotted Sedge (Hydropsyche), Ginger Sedge (?) and Great Brown Sedge (Pycnopsyche). You can find caddis on the rivers pretty much all summer long from East Coast to the West Coast. I prefer tightly wrapped wool for the larva stage, Gary LaFontaine's Emergent Sparkle Pupa or a small bead head, gold-ribbed hare's ear for the emerging caddis, and elk hair caddis, or diving bead head caddis for the adults. See the Caddisfly page for more information.