Lessons From a Lifetime of Fly Fishing Travel: Ken Morrish Shares His Tips for Summer Travel
Learn Ken Morrish's best fly fishing travel tips, from packing gear and family trips to destination planning and making the most of time on the water.
Ambassador Tips: Fishing the PMD Hatch
Every spring, anglers across the country look forward to the arrival of Pale Morning Duns, better known as PMDs. From cripples and emergers to spinners and duns, few hatches offer as many opportunities — or as many ways to get it wrong. To help anglers make the most of this legendary hatch, we asked three of our most seasoned Ambassadors, Pete Erickson, George Daniel, and John Fochetti, to share the tricks, tactics, patterns, and floatant setups they rely on year after year when PMDs start covering the water.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PHASE OF A PMD HATCH TO FOCUS ON?
Pete: My favorite phase of a PMD hatch is that short transition (lasts about 15-20 mins) right at the end of the emergers and just at the beginning of the duns....The fish act like little kids that are seeing a hot fudge sundae for the first time.
George: I prefer the early stage of the hatch. In Pennsylvania, we have sulfurs that hatch over a span of four to six weeks. The first week of the hatch usually provides excellent fishing, as the insects are larger and trout are more aggressive when feeding on the surface. As the hatch progresses, the insects become smaller and the fish become more selective and challenging to catch.
John: My favorite stage of a PMD hatch is when the bugs are emerging and hatching, though not necessarily for dry fly fishing. When you get a large emergence of PMDs, the fish start to get reckless and aggressively feed on the nymphs, even when there are plenty of bugs on the surface and fish rising. Don’t get me wrong, I love throwing dries during a PMD hatch, but it’s also a blast to watch fish absolutely crush nymphs.
Another really fun approach during a PMD hatch is fishing a dry-dropper setup and targeting fish in just a foot or two of water. I think that’s what I enjoy most about this hatch — there are so many different ways to fish it. Best of all, you can experience it almost every day for months, from late spring through summer.
WHAT IS YOUR ESSENTIAL FLOATANT(S) FOR FISHING ALL PHASES OF THE PMD AND TYPES OF PMD PATTERNS? AND WHY?
Pete: Loon Dust just on the CDC wing, until the fly starts to get wet. Then I apply Fly Dip after that or change flies.
George: Loon Dust for all my CDC patterns
John: My essential floatant is the same for every dry fly I throw, and it is Fly Dip. It works on any type of dry fly, including ones made with CDC, and it doesn't add a bunch of extra material and weight to the fly. It can be used on dry or wet flies.
IF YOU HAVE 3 PATTERNS YOU COULD ONLY FISH WITH DURING EACH YEAR'S PMD HATCH, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
Pete: First would be a CDC pmd dun no hackle with thread body(color to match the pmd hatch), then a mahogany spinner and lastly a pmd merger with cdc wing and trailing shuck.
George: I use a Perdigon-style nymph with yellow holographic flash material I call Sunburst sulfur. My second would be a CDC no hackle dry fly with split tails for the dun and the third would be a sunken spinner with a higher floating dry fly indicator fly.
John: Three flies to fish during a PMD hatch would be a CDC Comparadun PMD, Peaches and Cream and a no flash no bead pheasant tail.
WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE YOU SEE ANGLERS MAKING WHILE FISHING PMD HATCHES?
Pete: Not recognizing "micro-drag"
George: Fishing too large of a pattern later in the hatch when Sulfurs become smaller.
John: The most common mistake I see people make when fishing a pmd hatch is sticking with the dry fly too long on the same pod of fish. Catch a couple on the dry and when they are over, fish a dry dropper or nymph over them, and you'll have way more success.
