Great example of "match the hatch"...nice fish & report...

Thanks vogey! They are on the way

Those are some great fish. I'm gonna have to try some of these...I can't be worse at it than I am at drop shotting lol. Looks like you guys fish them with light spinning gear and I'm guessing 6 or 8 lb line? What kind of casting distance do you get from them?

Thanks for the reply JohnF67 we are using zebco Z02 spincast reels with 4lb line on 4ft 6in zebco hotcast rods. We can cast the1/80 tiny jigs about 15yrds.

That's cool. Do you know what type of insect that is? I've tied some hellgramitte patterns similar to that insect. I have a new color pattern to try now

I think it's a type of mayfly it has wings although they cant be seen in the pic. It was sitting on my center console when i took the pic. They are very docile and will let you pick them up

Awh, that makes sense. I tie a type of sinking dragonfly which has a similar body shape with the exception of the long front antennae or the excessively long tail. The hellgramitte have a lot more legs. Thanks for the picture. This type of information is of great help. I have something to model

I have used live hellgramittes with good success, skin as tough as nails and pinch like the devil. Always glad to help would love to see your version of this mayfly when it's all said and done

Yep that's a mayfly and guessing a burrower like a hexagenia or could be a large swimmer like an isonychia. I would go with isonychia if it came out of a creek hexs usually come out of still water with a lot of vegetation debris on the bottom. Mayflies are often described by the action(s) of their nymph form. Guessing that one would be size 10 or 12. That one looks like it is still in the breading phase rather than in the "spinner" phase. A spinner is a mayfly that is spent from breeding. The wings are usually completely clear at this phase and the body is usually monochromatic. It also the phase that most fish take adult mayflies as the spinner is not going to fly away like a newly emerged bug. I think those are legs protruding from the front of the fly as true insects like mayflies have six legs. Mayflies usually have almost imperceptible antennae and their front legs are frequently a different color from the others.

There is a huge hexagenia hatch up this way during the summer and the fish gorge though this is more on the nymphs as they become super active and move to the surface. I have some flies that would be killer for this bug.

Hellgrammites are Dobson fly larva. Yes they do have large pincer that hurt like hell but that is because both the larva and the adult are carnivorous. Used to have to catch them for my dad when I was a kid before his yearly small mouth adventure/debacle on the Rappahannock river.

Sorry I nerded out here but streamside entomology was kinda of thing for me for the past sixteen years while I was fishing for trout around the country.

Great information Bones72. I've spent some time studying hatch charts and ultimately lean towards patterns of insects that have hatches a large portion of the year for sunfish fishing. What books or other resources do you recommend to study Central texas insects and hatches?.

Gar1970, This is a variant of a Carter's Rubber Legged Dragon that I tie. It is one of my 5 favorite flies for sunfish & bluegill. I also catch lots of catfish and bass on this fly.

Thanks for the info bones72 I learned something new

That's a good looking fly J-Moe is that a wolff apex your tying on?

Yes it is. I love it.

Great choice! I love mine too

Not sure on books most of what I learned came from mentors and the internet. Had a few fishing buddies that really helped me to learn the bugs on the water. In addition circulars like Fly Tyer or Flyfishermen magazine usually feature a fly in each issue that describes the fly the bug and most times its life cycle/habits etc.... as well as when and where it is applicable. Texas is a conundrum for me and still have much searching to do for resources to understand the movements of the seasons.

Some things have remained the same from when I was here before like the hex hatches yet other things are first time things for me. I have seen tricos on several creeks here earlier this summer, tricos are tiny little mayflies that I usually associate with cold, super clean trout streams in late summer early fall. Then catching about thirty or six to seven inch crappie in Nolan creek this Sunday really threw me for a loop. I also saw a ringtail going down the bank very early in the morning, this is a critter I thought of being further south like south of Austin. Then on last Friday, the day I caught a flathead on the fly, I saw a coral snake crossing the Brushy Creek; close enough I could see the bands and recite the rhyme "red on black friend of Jack, red on yellow kill a fellow". My experience was that they went out of their way to avoid water, guess I was wrong again. Who knows I might finds myself fishing for white bass with Catskill style quill Gordons or Largemouth with full dress salmon flies.