Green Drakes are a legendary hatch, beginning in the East in early to mid-May, in the West, in early to mid June. Many anglers try to time their fishing trips to match the hatching of the large, upright-winged mayflies. The Eastern and Western Green Drakes are not the same species but are similar in looks and behavior. We have been on both wide-open flats and dancing riffles where Green Drake duns blanketed the water like a thousand little sailboats. Green Drake duns are difficult to match since a newly-hatched dun is chartreuse, but fly patterns are typically tied in some shade of olive.
New duns are clumsy and wiggly.
Making your imitation wiggle like that is not easy. Typical adult Green Drake patterns don't match the hatch and the movement of the new duns cannot be easily imparted to your fly, so it is no wonder that, in the midst of an armada of Green Drake duns, trout will rarely take your offering. It isn't uncommon for the surface to be covered and still see no rising trout. The reason fishing to Green Drake hatches is infuriating is that the trout can look upward and see an endless supply of insects. The trout have little need to move far, since the current is feeding them insect after insect.