Drakes and Wulffs: Big Fish Eat Big Mayflies

Published in the Fall/Winter 2010 issue of the Montana Sporting Journal

By Joshua Bergan

Let me count the ways I love the big mayflies we call drakes.

Drakes are unheralded. They make patient muses for photography (and apparently writing). They're beautiful creatures. They give Montanans a chance to fish attractors before (and after) goldenstones – the usual catalyst of summer attractor-dry-fly fishing.

Drakes light my fire. It's probably like the feeling people get when they're clicking uphill on a roller coaster. Anticipation that makes your eyes bulge and leaves your nerves porridge. Buckle up and keep your arms inside the boat - you've just encountered a drake hatch.

The three species of drakes, not related other than by common name, are huge mayflies. Greens are chubby, browns are long, and grays are somewhere in between They provide a big-boy's meal for trout, but, in Montana, rarely emerge in numbers large enough to garner attention. That's why a fishable hatch is an event to hold dear.

The lower Madison has a decent brown drake hatch. Glacier National Park's Lake McDonald sees a big brown drake emergence. Myriad mountain lakes and many valley and meadowy rivers see gray drakes. A surprising number of small cricks see green drakes, as do many big freestones like the Yellowstone, Big Hole, Bitterroot and Rock Creek.

Don't let low numbers stop you, though – it's the perfect time to throw classic attractors like Adams, Trudes and Wulffs. Wulffs are to drakes as Humpies are to sallies. There is an appeal to throwing these classic flies – potentially the same patterns our parents caught fish on decades ago, long before contemporary whipper snappers like the Stimulator or PMX.

There is, however, a new fly that has proven especially effective for drake hatches – the Royal Wulff Cripple. Montana's Rowan Nyman (fishing guide at the Firehole Ranch on Hebgen Lake) designed it and the Trude Cripple. It's obviously a twist on the classic – the difference being that the post is tied forward, like most cripple dry flies, and it has a trailing shuck.

“It was an attempt to take one of my all time favorite flies and make it a little easier and quicker to tie,” Nyman said. “I have admired the Bob Quigley cripple style of flies and was in the middle of changing his style to fit a variety of mayflies in the area. I have always thought its lower profile, yet high visibility, were critical keys to its success.”

I've been privy to some fish that fly has fooled - 24 tall inches of unbelievable, river-dwelling Yellowstone cutthroat trout, among others.

Incidentally, Super Float, the dry-fly floatant exclusive to Great Divide Outfitters on the Big Hole, is regarded by many as the most effective on the market. It seems to work particularly well on big, bushy dries such as Wulffs and Trudes. But if you stop in, bring your own (tiny) bottle. The shop often runs out of them, but will still sell you floatant if you can contain it.

With that said, don't forget that even if it happens to sink and under is the surface, it still might work. It might just take a few feet of depth to find the trout's wheelhouse, or you might trigger a curiosity strike.

In some locations, gray drakes (genus siphlonurus, usually about a size 12) hatch more than once per year, typcially in spring then again around September. They're duns are olive-gray with horseshoe-like markings on their undersides, slate wings and two strong, wavy tails; their spinners are closer to black. They hatch on dry land like stoneflies, so small shucks on rocks are an indication they're about. They are a beautifully proportioned, robust bug.

Green drakes (genus drunella, size 12 short shank) are huge. It's difficult to believe it's a mayfly when you spot one in the air because of their wingspan. They're a huge attraction on places like the Railroad Ranch on Henry's Fork, but not so much at most places in Montana. They tend to be roughly pea-green, also with slate wings. They seem particularly susceptible to crippling during emergence. They typically hatch in late June and early July, and in some places again in early September.

Following greens' emergence, brown drakes (ephemera simulans, size 10 to 12) take shape. They prowl by night, often hatching at dusk and continuing into the twilight. They are one of the few “burrowing” mayflies, so they like river bottoms that are pliable. The best-known hatch in the area is probably on the Gibbon River in Yellowstone Park, but, as mentioned above, many Montana waters see them.

The next time you see a drake hatch, take heart. Montana's hatches likely won't appear on the News Channel's doppler radar, but they are rare and distinct occurrences that are treats for all involved. When that day comes, snip off the caddis and tie on a Wulff.