With water temps warming up many of most fly fishers favorite bugs are becoming active. Currently on the middle Provo near where I live we have the infamous green drake (pictured above) hatch taking place. This hatch only hangs around for a few weeks out of the year. The large majestic mayflies seem to rise every fish in the river at one time or another. Masked by the drakes are many other hatches. These hatches may include PMDs, golden stones, and caddis flies depending on the day.  Trout love these hatches because it means a water column filled with wriggling emerging insects and an abundance of adults on the water’s surface, both of which are accompanied by the greedy unquenchable appetite of trout. Similarly, we as anglers share this unquenchable lust, only ours is to catch the trout, not the bugs which they are after.

Having said that, an understanding of basic aquatic entomology has helped me in many instances. I’ll be the first to admit that trout have fooled me more times than I have fooled them, especially in hatch conditions. Below are a few resources that I believe to be handy in solving these deceptive mysteries:

Aquatic Entomology Diagrams (Mayflies, Stoneflies, Caddis, and Midges)

Photo gallery of bugs that fish eat (Aquatic and Terrestrial)

Nothing compensates for time spent looking at the tiny creatures fish call food. Learn to recognize the major aquatic insects, spend a little time behind the vise tying the right imitations for the season, and you will increase your odds of fooling the many trout which you seek.