When it comes to fly hatches, no aquatic insect receives more attention then the Hendrickson/red quill hatch.There is a reason for all the excitement associated with this mayfly. Although Hendrickson is preceded by quill Gordon, that hatch is not as large; the flies emerge when the weather and water temperatures can still be very chilly; the trout are not cooperative. 

The Hendrickson red quill hatch normally occurs during the third to fourth week of April. By then, water temperatures have reached 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and trout are feeding a bit better; the threat of really cold weather is mostly—but not entirely—over. While quill Gordons hatch in late morning, Hendricksons/red quills emerge around two o’clock in the afternoon, sometimes later, depending on air and water temperature.

Anglers look to this hatch because it is the first mayfly that can bring really large trout to the surface. That is, if the weather and stream conditions cooperate.

Despite all the positives, it has been my experience that more often than not weather and stream conditions seldom cooperate during Hendrickson/red quill emergence in the Catskills. Rivers can be too high to fish, water temperatures unseasonably cold. The flies don’t hatch. The trout don’t rise. Sadly those conditions are the norm rather than the exception. But once in a while the river gods cooperate, flows and temperatures are perfect, and there is a warm, late-April day.

Some years ago—perhaps in ‘98 or ‘99—my friends Bill and Heidi and I drove to our camp on the East Branch of the Delaware at Peaceful Valley, near Shinhopple. It was a lovely, late-April day. When we arrived around noon and checked the river, blue quills were already on the water, a good sign because that mayfly always precedes the Hendrickson/red quill hatch by about two hours.

After a quick lunch, I decided to head upriver, near the end of the campground, where a nice run enters a very good pool. Bill and Heidi decided to fish a long, wide, flat pool immediately behind our camper. I had looked over that pool a number of times while driving by Peaceful Valley, and never gave it much thought. It looked too open and shallow with insufficient cover to support a good trout population.

There were Hendricksons on the water when I arrived at the upper river and two trout rising at the head of the pool. I was fishing a Thomas and Thomas, 8-foot, five-weight, bamboo fly rod at the time. I already had a size 14 Catskill-style Hendrickson attached to my 5x tippet. 

The most upstream trout was rising steadily, so my first cast was to it. That trout came to my fly shortly but was lost when the knot between my tippet and leader slipped, leaving about 24 inches of monofilament and my fly in that fish’s jaw. I did hook and land the second trout, left the pool and waded downstream to look for other feeding trout and rest the upper pool. When I found no trout rising, I returned to the head of the pool where I found the first trout rising again. This time, with a better knot, I hooked and landed that fish and found my first fly and length of tippet along with the second fly. I think that fish was about 18 inches. So much for a wary brown trout! 

After releasing that trout, I decided to head back downriver to see how my friends were doing. When I arrived at the big, flat pool, both were sitting on the bank watching the river, which was covered with hatching Hendricksons and red quills along with several cruising rising trout. My friends had big grins on their faces, so there was no need to ask what that was about. After we caught up, they suggested that I try for the remaining rising trout, and there were quite a few. So that’s what I did. With their encouragement, I waded in above the closest trout and began casting well above the last rise. (It’s necessary to lead trout that are cruising.) After a short float, I rose and landed that trout. Over the next half hour, I hooked and landed a few more before wading to the bank to visit with my friends.

That late-April day on the East Branch provided the best fishing I ever had during a Catskill Hendrickson/red quill hatch. It turned out to be one of those very rare days where the weather, flow, flies and trout all cooperated. A day on the river that remains firmly etched in my memory, even all these years later. And I’ll never prejudge a pool again, after what we found while fishing that long, flat, shallow pool. Looks can be misleading and I definitely learned a lesson!