Skwala Stoneflies

The skwala belongs to the family of stoneflies. Come spring, it is among the first ones to hatch. These bugs are known for their smaller, dark bodies and they crawl onto brushy areas and banks to hatch. All stoneflies go through incomplete metamorphosis, with three life stages: egg, nymph, and adult. When the skwala stonefly starts moving, that’s your cue to use big dry flies. Fishing with a skwala dry fly can provide anglers lots of opportunities and a great experience, whether you’re looking into streamer fishing or nymphing.

Early spring is the best time to nymph a small olive nymph pattern when the skwala fly starts to hatch. When you start to see trout rising, nymphs crawling on rocks, or fresh empty shucks on banks, you may want to start using a good skwala dry fly pattern. At RiverBum, we carry a great selection of flies you can use, such as Britten Jay’s Skwala Stone, which is designed to attract trout. It’s a good high floating fly for a hopper dropper rig, too.

Waters like slow tail-outs, back eddies with slow, recirculating water, and slow inside seams are some of the perfect locations for finding the skwala stonefly. Given trout are cold blooded, water temperatures need to rise to activate both the trout, and the stoneflies. A water temp of a steady 43 degrees should get the party started on most waters.

Fish really zone in on these bugs when they first hatch. It’s a big meal for a trout. As the season progresses, you’ll want to make sure you have a range of size offering. The trout will not only be selective in coloration, but also in size.