The Stenonema vicarium nymph is the largest and first of these species to emerge in northeast waters. These nymphs are easily identified by their wide angled 3-tails. Each tail is almost 90 degrees to the others. They are one of the most popular mayflies in Maine waters, because these naturals usually emerge sporadically throughout the day, providing an easy day on the stream. Like the other clingers, they have the flattened head and body, including the femoral potion of the legs. This profile allows them to withstand the fast currents of riffles and runs.

These nymphs will usually migrate to downstream to the pools, quiet eddies and side currents of runs. The nymphs will often drift along the currents for long distances and thereby offering numerous opportunities to waiting fish. Like the other clingers and some crawlers, they can be found on the downstream side or rocks and boulders, as well as underneath the same.

During the emergence, these clumsy nymphs have a hard time getting off the water. They will flutter and bounce across the surface in their various attempts to achieve flight, creating such a disturbance, which often incites a feeding frenzy.

The spinner flights will usually occur just before dusk. Once the mating activity is complete, the female will dip her egg laden posterior into the water time after time to deposit the fertilized eggs. This is another activity that drives fish crazy. Oviposting done, the female will fall spent to the waters surface, joining the male who has preceded her.

Tactics

A weighted nymph fished on the bottom to imitate the swimming and crawling motions of the active nymphs is deadly. During emergence, nymphs labor strenuously in or just below the surface film to escape their shucks, causing such a commotion that fish find it irresistible. The duns have great difficulty in getting off the water, so wade to the middle of the stream, and then you can be in position to cast your offering to the deep side of pools while you rest the shallow edges. The shallow will often out-produce the more often fished deeper water. These emerging duns are a large sized treat for any opportunistically feeding fish.

These feeble legged crawling nymphs usually prefer the quieter water such as slow runs, side-currents and pools. They can also be found in eddies that have the faster water and moderate, gravelly runs. They can be found anywhere that detritus has accumulated which serves as an excellent hiding place with a built in food source.

During emergence, the nymphs will attempt to swim towards the surface in a real awkward and clumsy way.

Once they leave their bottom hiding places, they are at the complete mercy of both currents and fish. Once on the waters surface, these duns are quick to get air-borne.

A few days after the start of hatches, around midday, the spinners will begin their nuptial flights. The males will hover high above the riffles in swarms and the females will fly into the swarm and select a mate. After copulation, the females will repeatedly dip their posteriors into the water time and time again until the eggs have been deposited into the water. Having completed their duties, the male and females will fall as spent spinners onto the waters from whence they came.

Although the sub imagoes usually emerge for a one-week period, the spinners will be busy for a couple of weeks. Spinner flights will occur progressively later in the day as the hatches peak until the best flights will occur during early evening.

Tactics

Trout will gorge themselves on these emerging insects, so a nymph pattern can be deadly. Fish this pattern drag free through medium runs, the slower pocket water and side eddies for quick results.

You can also fish the emerger pattern drag free in the surface film to entice the fish that are feeding just below the surface.

When the duns are on the water's surface and trying desperately to get airborne, switch to a hackled imitation and fish with occasional twitches, to simulate this emerging activity.

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