Hatch Charts of the Streams of Central PA

May Hatch Chart

Fly Pattern & Size Penns Creek Big Fishing Creek Elk Creek Pine Creek Spring Creek
Pale Yellow Cranefly #16-18 First light & evenings First light & evenings First light & evenings First light & evenings First light & evenings
Blue Quill #18 First light & evenings First light & evenings First light & evenings First light & evenings First light & evenings
March Brown #10-12 From 10am On, Randomly Sz. 10 From 10am On, Randomly Sz. 12 From 10am On, Random From 10am On, Random From 10am On, Random
Grey Fox #14 From 11am thru to Evening From 11am thru to Evening From 11am thru to Evening 11am thru to Evening, lower sections 11am thru to Evening, lower sections
Sulphur (Ephemerella Invaria & Rotunda) #14 Duns - 1pm to 6, Spinners follow Duns - 1pm to 6, Spinners follow Duns - 1pm to 6, Spinners follow Duns - 1pm to 6, Spinners follow Duns - 1pm to 6, Spinners follow
Green Drake #4- 10 Evenings Evenings, Generally after Penns' Hatch Evenings Evenings, Below Elk Creek Junction NA
Sulphur Dun #16 4pm till dark. Starting Later as Hatch Continues (Late May thru June) 4pm till dark. Starting Later as Hatch Continues (Late May thru June) Evenings From Mid-May thru June Evenings From Mid-May Into Early July Evenings From Mid-May thru June
Black Caddis #18 All day All day All day All day NA
Tan Caddis #16 All day All day All day All day All day

May Seasonal Information

April showers bring May hatches! May is the month that defines dry fly fishing in PA. We start off with the March Browns usually in the first week, quickly followed by the early Sulphur. The March Brown on Penns Creek is huge, easily a size 10 and the first Sulphurs on Penns are a size 12. As the hatches thicken up, the clouds of spinners most evenings do to. One of the most prolific bugs in central PA, there are many species of Sulphurs and they come one after the next. Each species is a little smaller, starting as size 12 and finishing with the size 18 Dorothea. During this time there are three kinds of caddis, crane flies, stone flies, blue quills, blue wing olives, blue duns, grey fox and midges. All of this bug soup comes to a thrilling head with the eruption of the eastern green drake. The green drake hatch is the largest left on the east coast and is truly massive. A client once quipped that, "I would have expected the water levels to drop with all those bugs being hatched!" It is a true sight of nature and not to be missed in a fly fisherman's life. Of course, the locals will tell you that you are better off using a sulphur either way, and they might even be right.