Cripple above and Comparadun below are essential dry flies for Maine's Kennebec Trout.

Cornuta, Blue-Winged Olives and Hendrickson Mayflies emerge on the Shawmut stretch of the Kennebec River in Mid to late May. They emerge precisely at 2 PM. And, when the days are cold and cloudy, the emerging bugs will stay on the water a long time, especially if there's little wind. They are about a size 14 and are often on the water with Hendricksons (a size 10) and Blue Winged Olives (sizes 12-20). It's sometimes very important to get the body color, wing color and size right when selecting flies. Other times, any olivish pattern will fool fish if presented as a natural

Often it is cold and rainy in Maine in May. And that's exactly what we've been having almost all month. So, it's good for the fish....and not so good for the fishing. Warmer water will jump-start the hatches and the fish will rise like crazy.

The Rainbow above has its right fin clipped indicating that it was stocked last season.

Kennebec Tail waters produce May Fly Hatches from May through October.