It's easy to connect dry fly fishing with warm Summer days and evenings when mayflies and caddis flies are hatching. But what about those hatches that happen in the snow with few plus degrees to some minus degrees. Well that's the february reds.
Without going too deep with conditions these stoneflies need to hatch, it happens around March and April here in Southern and Central Finland height. Usually it is start of river season for many fly fisher after winter. Starting your river season with casting dry flies in the middle of snow banks hits different when you've lived through some cold and dark winter months...
The excitement can be serious when the Spring is finally ahead of us. Our product manager Ryde feeling it BIG TIME.
Everyone who has been fishing these stonefly hatches more than once know how unpredictable it can be. It can be compared with dry fly fishing in the mountains where conditions can change rapidly and hatches can last for 10 minutes and then it's pouring rain for one week. But when you get lucky enough and hit the right place in right time, it's so cool experience you will definitely go over again and again for years.
Stoneflies / February reds (Sumukorento in Finnish) are quite large, usually hook size 10-12 is right snack size in imitations.
The best scenario you can get. Active brown trout feeding with stoneflies in front of you. Antti Guttorm trying to crack the code with Feel115 line and Rivermaniac rod.
Couple years ago we did a film about stone fly hatches and dry fly fishing in the snow. Watch it here: Another Hard Day at the Office: Dry Fly Fishing in the Snow
