Timing Spring Skwala and March Brown Hatches
Words by Greg Thomas. Photography by Tate Thomas.
SPRING’S GLORY HATCH IS THE SKWALA STONEFLY, BUT THE MARCH BROWN DRAKE COULD BE YOUR BIG WINNER.
Each year, sometime in late February or early March, you may sense a change—those Texan tall hats shut down their oil rigs, decreasing production while, in the process, sending fuel prices sky high. This is quickly followed by those cliche headlines, the most egregious being, Pain At The Pump.
You’ll see interviews with the perplexed saying, “I might have to choose between groceries and gasoline,” as if this dance hasn’t gone on since the dawn of time. It’s a prime example of the powerful feeding on the weak and, ya know, . . . damn, I wish I owned an oil pump!
Soaring gas prices are your queue that something else is up in the northern Rockies, maybe most pronounced in western Montana—air and water temperatures rise and the region’s wild trout, including rainbows, browns and native cutthroats, become very active. They, too, feed on the weak, the underdogs here being squadrons of skwala stoneflies that crawl to the bankside rocks as early as late February. In a typical year you can count on their presence, with nymphs on the rocks and winged adults plying the surface, on or before March 20. These bugs, which are matched by size 8 to 12 imitations, remain and important part of a trout’s diet through May, up until rivers blow out from snowmelt and spring freshets.
Photo Credit: Tate Thomas
The hatch is most commonly associated with Montana’s Bitterroot River, but over time anglers realized this bug is ubiquitous, found on numerous freestones including Rock Creek, the Big Hole, Clark Fork, Blackfoot, Smith, Gallatin, and Jefferson, to name a few; also on freestones in Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington, among other locales.
On most western streams, skwalas are the first large bugs of the year, providing an excuse to get the boat out of the garage and onto the water. That promise of large dries and relatively warm weather often draws people to the river in hoards. Some days the water may be littered with rafts and boats; other times the pressure is light. Most people know that adult skwalas are most active in the afternoon, and plan their days accordingly. Those who launch early may find some “happy” fish on nymphs and streamers, long before a dozen or more boats float over their heads. Some high-quality browns can be found on broad, shallow flats, hunting minnows in mid-morning light. By plying that slowish water you might end up with your best fish of the day.
IF YOU’RE NOT A STREAMER JUNKIE YOU COULD THROW NYMPHS ALL MORNING INSTEAD.
Some days the fish are on them and other days they are not. If you hit the Bitterroot or any other skwala stream when they’re not eating nymphs you may wonder what all the hype is about. If you stay on the water through mid-to late afternoon, you’ll figure it out; skwalas really wake up sometime between 1 and 5 p.m.
A word of warning: don’t expect to see scads of skwalas in the air or on the water at any time. Some days you may see a few. Other times you may see none. Some days they fall out of the sky and dimple the surface like raindrops. Just know, whether you see those bugs or not, trout are aware of their presence. Know that a skwala on the surface is an easy meal at a time of year when those fish desperately need protein.
Photo Credit: Tate Thomas
One afternoon on Rock Creek three fish came up for my strike indicator before I thought, Wow, maybe they’re trying to tell me something. I tied on an adult skwala and threw it for an hour or two. Ten eats. Not a real bug to be seen.
While the skwala is the early season glory bug, don’t sleep on the March brown drake. This size 14 to 16 mayfly can be the big winner, especially as spring progresses and the trout get a little leery of skwala imitations.
March browns often come off simultaneously with the skwala. If you see rises, sometimes on the banks, sometimes off, and you can’t get an eat on the big stonefly, know those fish are eating drakes. You can get tricky with these fish, tying on any sneaky March brown imitation you choose, but they’ll just as likely eat a standard pattern, such as a size 14 or 16 Parachute Adams, Purple Haze, Cripple, Sparkle Dun or Comparadun.
Photo Credit: Tate Thomas
When the March browns really pop you might believe that every fish in the river is feeding on top . . . and not be far from the truth. Most days, sometime between noon and 5 p.m. there should be an hour or two when the bugs emerge; on cool, cloudy days it takes time for the March browns to dry their wings meaning, of course, they can’t fly. Trout know this and crush them. Not to put false expectations in your head, but I’ve enjoyed a couple hours at a time on several Montana rivers when a couple dozen fish ate the dry during that short timeframe.
When fishing these spring hatches an angler in the front of the boat might throw a mayfly imitation while an angler in the back could slap down a stonefly in its wake, like a Wiggle Skwala, Bugmeister, low-profile Water Walker Stone, or a Bullethead. That way you’ll have two bugs covered and the numbers might rack up.
If you don’t find productive fishing on a particular river, due to any number of factors, including a lack of bugs, high, dirty water and bad weather, don’t hesitate to call a few shops. Sunrise on the Big Hole, Fisherman’s Mercantile on Rock Creek, Galloup’s Slide Inn on the Madison, and Grizzly Hackle in Missoula, all offer great info. Remember, during spring, if it isn’t happening here it’s probably happening there. Most of these waters and shops are located within a two or three-hour radius, some closer, making a quick change of plans—even if you go for a day and return to your original lodging/camping option that night—and easy switch. Driving to and from any of those streams is a treat during spring.
THE MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND GREENING UP; WILDLIFE IS ABUNDANT; AND THE LITTLE EATERIES AND BARS ALONG THE WAY BECKON NEARLY AS MUCH AS THE WATER.
Photo Credit: Tate Thomas
A few years ago, in April, I floated the Bitterroot with a neighbor friend who falls into the trust fund category. I don’t know the whole story but I know this: that boy doesn’t work much and he sure gets to play. Probably owns a big hat and a couple oil wells. As I pen this piece, I haven’t seen him at his house (or his small plane at the airport) in a couple months. Golf in Phoenix, I imagine, and a stint in Mexico fishing tarpon with a guide called Sandflea. I’m looking forward to his return so we can hit the ’root together. It will be an even shake—on the water there’s only one tax bracket. Success is all about which fly you throw and where you throw it. Money can’t buy you dry-fly eats.
Each time he and I fish we trade off on the oars, one casting a streamer or dry at the banks, the other holding the boat at a favorable angle and distance. On the Bitterroot that day we caught several fish, including an 18-inch brown that qualified as my first dry-fly score of the year. Near the end of our float the March browns popped and we traded spots after each good fish. I suppose we could have slowed down and caught more—those trout were still rising and there was plenty of daylight—but we were happy and tired.
Even though it was early April and we wore long underwear, stocking caps, and heavy shirts under our waders, it felt like spring had arrived. All possibilities lay ahead—all the great weather, all the great hatches, all those daylight hours begging for adventure. That’s a great feeling, in stark contrast to the sensation I get in late fall, during the dark and icy end to the season, when a cold day fishing might feel like a funeral.
With the boat trailered and gear stored, we hit the road, stopping only for provisions at a gas station in Stevensville. I heard enough golf and tarpon stories and raced inside to grab some cheap sodas and snacks, leaving my friend at the fuel pump with a near-empty tank and no doubt who’d be feeling the pain.
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