Orvis /Hatch Chart - Eastern & Midwestern US - Fly Fishing -- Orvis
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Hatch Chart | Eastern & Mid-Western United States

Hatch charts can help you pick out the appropriate flies and tackle that you are likely to need for an upcoming fly fishing trip. They should never be taken as gospel, but rather as a general guide to expected aquatic insect activity. Weather and water conditions can cause significant changes in the timing and duration of the hatches, but in the Eastern United States they usually happen in the same order each year.

Click on the links for each fly to take you to our favorite recommendations for imitating a specific insect. You can then purchase the right flies for a hatch, or if you are a fly tier, you will find the pattern listing for these flies. Note that many of the patterns are offered in different sizes; choose the sizes listed on the hatch chart for the most accurate imitation.

If you’d rather purchase flies in prepared selections, we offer the following hatch-specific fly selections:

Mayfly Lifecycle Fly Selection Eastern Trout Spring Fly Selection
Eastern Trout Summer Fly Selection Caddis Bead Head & Tungsten Nymphs

Your best source for current information will be a local company-owned retail store or Orvis dealer.

Click here to view Hatch Charts for the Western United States

Eastern & Mid-Western Fly Hatches
Common Name
(& Latin Name)
Fly Size
Recommended Fly
(click on fly name to view)
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Midge
(Chironomidae)
16-26
 
 
Quill Gordon
(E. pleuralis)
12-14
                 
Blue Wing Olive
(B. vagans)
18-20
               
Little Mahogany
(P. adoptiva)
16-20
                 
Little Black Caddis
(C. aterrima)
16-18
           
Hendrickson
(E. subvaria)
14-16
               
March Brown
(S. vicarium)
10-12
               
Eastern Gray Drake
(S. quebecensis)
10-12
               
Large Sulphur
(E. invaria)
14-16
               
Little Sulphur
(E. dorothea)
16-20
                 
Light Cahill
(S. candense)
14-16
               
Gray Fox
(S. fuscum)
12-14
                 
Little Yellow Stonefly
(A. chloroperla)
12-14
           
Eastern Green Drake
(E. guttulata)
8-10
                 
Isonychia
(I. bicolor)
12-14
             
Brown Drake
(E. simulans)
8-10
               
Hexagenia
(H. limbata)
6-8
               
Yellow Drake
(E. varia)
12-14
               
Golden Drake
(Potomanthus distinctus)
8
                 
Slate Wing Olive
(E. lata/attenuata)
16-18
               
Trico
(T. stygiatus)
22-24
           
Tiny Blue Winged Olive
(P. anoka)
22-24
             
White Mayfly
(E. leukon)
14-16
               
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Fly fishing with these little nymphs is often successful. The parachute Para Ant makes prospecting easier too. Add these flies to your collection of nymphs for fly fishing trout or carp.

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