BirdTrout
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Sucker Spawn
A nymph, tied #10–16, a spring pattern. It is tied against 1 named insect in this book — October–January and April.
- #10–16Hook size
- nymphType
- SpringSeason
- 1Hatch matched
What it looks like
A drawing, not a photograph, and not traced from one. Its proportions were read off 5 independent reference photographs of the pattern and written down as 5 measured characteristics — wing angle, tail length against the shank, how far a hackle fibre reaches — every one of which had to hold across more than one of them before it could be drawn. What survives across many photographs of a fly is the fly.
What it imitates
Each of these is the same hatch record the app's own panel reads, so a pattern recommended on a river card in the app is recommended for one of the insects below.
Tying recipe
In tying order. This dressing is the standard one — these patterns have been in the publicrecord for decades — and materials substitute freely: the proportions and the silhouette are the pattern, not the brand of dubbing.
| Hook | Curved or standard nymph hook, sizes 10–16 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Cream 8/0 |
| Body | Angora or McFly yarn tied in a series of loops along the shank |
| Colour | Cream, pale pink or peach |
When to fish it
Tributary water in spring, dead-drift on the bottom. A cluster rather than a single egg, which is what actually comes off a redd.
A spring pattern. The insects it matches are active october–january and april, in water from 33°F to 60°F.
Target species
- Trout
- Steelhead
Rivers it fishes well
Rivers with a page here that sit in the regions where the insects this pattern imitates are recorded. It is a claim about coverage, not a report of a fish caught.
- Au Sable River northern lower Michigan · July mean 72.1°F
- Muskegon River northern lower Michigan · July mean 71.0°F
- Escanaba River the Upper Peninsula · July mean 68.3°F
- Saint Croix River northern Wisconsin · July mean 77.2°F
- Kalamazoo River southern lower Michigan · July mean 71.3°F
- Abitosse Creek the Upper Peninsula · July mean 72.0°F
- Acme Creek northern lower Michigan · July mean 67.1°F
- Adams Creek northern lower Michigan · July mean 67.1°F
- Adams Creek northern Wisconsin · July mean 66.2°F
- Addis Creek northern lower Michigan · July mean 61.9°F
- Adventure Creek the Upper Peninsula
- Aho Creek the Upper Peninsula · July mean 70.7°F
Related patterns
Same type of fly, or tied for the same insects.
- Egg Fly nymph · #10–16 — Behind spawning salmon and steelhead in fall and spring. Not a hatch — a food source.
- Squirmy Wormy nymph · #8–14 — The San Juan with movement. For coloured, pushy water.
- Black Stonefly Nymph nymph · #12–18 — Dead-drifted along the bottom. Stonefly nymphs are always present in rocky water.
- Brassie nymph · #16–22 — Copper wire and peacock. Sinks fast for its size, which is the point.
- Copper John nymph · #12–20 — Heavy enough to be the anchor fly. Gets the whole rig down in one cast.