Red Quills

The Hendrickson hatch is almost synonymous with fly fishing in America. It has been romanticized by our finest writers, enshrined on an untouchable pedestal next to Theodore Gordon, bamboo, and the Beaverkill.

The fame is well-deserved. Ephemerella subvaria is a prolific species which drives trout to gorge themselves. Its subtleties demand the best of us as anglers, and meeting the challenge pays off handsomely in bent graphite and screaming reels.

This species, the primary "Sulphur" hatch, stirs many feelings in the angler. There is nostalgia for days when everything clicked and large, selective trout were brought to hand. There is the bewildering memory of towering clouds of spinners which promise great fishing and then vanish back into the aspens as night falls. There is frustration from the maddening selectivity with which trout approach the emerging duns--a vexing challenge that, for some of us, is the source of our excitement when Sulphur time rolls around.

Ephemerella invaria is one of the two species frequently known as Sulphurs (the other is Ephemerella dorothea). There used to be a third, Ephemerella rotunda, but entomologists recently discovered that invaria and rotunda are a single species with an incredible range of individual variation. This variation and the similarity to the also variable dorothea make telling them apart exceptionally tricky.

As the combination of two already prolific species, this has become the most abundant of all mayfly species in Eastern and Midwestern trout streams.

This is the best Spring hatch after the Quill Gordons (Epeorus pleuralis) but before the Hendricksons (Ephemerella subvaria) in most parts of the East, although it can overlap with both. The Blue Quills are small mayflies (hook size 16-20) but they can hatch in incredible numbers at a time when eager trout are just beginning to look to the surface after a hungry winter.

This intriguing species has two distinct colors of nymphs, which were once considered to be different species. Most nymphs are a dark olive gray, but some are a surprisingly bright reddish brown. The red ones were once classified as Rhithrogena sanguinea. There is no apparent difference between the adults of the two varieties.

Ehhemerella tibialis (Little Western Red Quill, Little Western Dark Hendrickson) is a common western species that can be very important at times. It is perhaps also one of the most confusing species. Unlike it's western generic counterparts the species is described as dark and their females produce dark eggs. Until recently, it was classified in the Serratella genus with species that share these traits. Regardless, it is the only small, dark ephemerellid the western angler is likely to find important. Favorite patterns used for size 18 Pale Morning Dun hatches tied in eastern Dark Hendrickson colors should be the ticket.

As with many of it's sister species it is widely adaptable and may be variable in its appearance. Scientific literature and many angling sources describe it as a small dark mayfly. Not everybody agrees. Ralph Cutter, West Coast author of several angler/entomology books and articles describes it in Sierra Trout Guide as a much larger pale mayfly and dubs it the Creamy Orange Dun. He also mentions the nymph as being easy to recognize by the faint dorsal (Dorsal: Top.) stripe running down its back and its often fiery brownish red color. These descriptions also match a variation of the ubiquitous and common Ephemerella excrucians.

This is one of the two most common species of Rhithrogena.