Trout Fishing - 5 Tips for the Mayfly Hatch

From mid-May, many fly fishers are drawn to evenly drifting chalk and limestone rivers because this is where the most productive Ephemera Danica hatches can be found. But we can also observe the 'wedding' of the mayfly on many other flowing waters with soft, fine sediment at this time of year and enjoy great dry fly fishing. In our short tying video we show you a quick and easy mayfly and in this article we have put together our 5 best tips for the mayfly season on streams and rivers.

The merry month of May and June is considered by many fly fishermen to be the cream of the trout season. The reason for this is the numerous appearance of the 'large mayfly' or 'Danish mayfly' ('Ephemere Danica') on the water surface and the associated hope of being able to outwit a large brown trout with a dry fly. Rivers such as the Wiesent in Franconian Switzerland enjoy a legendary reputation for their prolific mayfly hatches and are particularly busy at this time of year. It doesn't necessarily have to be one of the well-known 'chalk streams' to witness the dance of the mayfly. Almost all streams and rivers with fine, sandy sediment are home to the conspicuous, yellowish, large representatives of the mayfly family.

Especially in the months of May to September, with the last week in May and the first weeks in June typically representing the peak. From a fishing point of view, the later, the more difficult! While the trout still rise regularly at the beginning of the May fly season and are much easier to catch, they become increasingly selective, sluggish and often more difficult to outwit towards the end. No wonder, because the buffet on the surface of the water is very rich and even the biggest craving for the high-calorie morsels is satisfied at some point.

That's why our tip no. 1: Start the mayfly season early! Use the time when the trout have not yet filled their bellies and are still greedily rising to the surface for exciting hours on the water with the dry fly. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be.

Ephemere Danica - The Large MayflyTheinsect of the year 2021 is easy to identify for the experienced eye of a fly fisherman: 'Ephemere Danica' has a long, conical body with three conspicuous, filigree tail threads. The body is yellowish in colour and the rear segments are clearly darker. They have brownish markings that are only pale in the front part - towards the wing. This is where the large mayfly differs from related members of the mayfly family, such as the 'Ephemera vulgata', which is found in almost all watercourses and also ranks at the top end of the Fario menu in the warm months.

As with many other mayflies, the female of the 'large mayfly' is a little larger. The female mayfly measures around 20 - 30 mm, but has slightly shorter tail filaments than the male representatives of the species. In addition, the males have longer forelegs, which are stretched out forwards when sitting. Even in the nymph stage, the yellow-light brown mayfly has a narrow, elongated body with three tail filaments.

There are countless ways to tie a catchy mayfly on the tying rod and various tying techniques are available to create a tempting imitation. When designing the body, for example, you can choose between a more elaborate extended body and the classic method of tying the body directly onto the hook. You can also choose from a wide range of materials to imitate the wings - for example CDC or Mallard feathers, which create a very natural silhouette and can be greased wonderfully. If, on the other hand, you want to imitate a spinner spinner, you can use synthetic antron, which makes it very easy to imitate the transparent wings of the dead insect lying flat on the water.

In our tying video, we show you a real Simply Fly with which you can imitate the adult insect very effectively. With just a few materials and simple tying steps, you can quickly create a versatile pattern that you can use to react to many typical situations during the mayfly season.

Hence our tip no. 2: Keep it simple! A mayfly doesn't have to be a work of art. Even with simple tying techniques and few materials, you can tie a very beautiful and successful pattern from Ephemera Danica. The motto 'Match The Hatch' is the best way to go during the mayfly season in most cases, but size and shape are the two key features you should focus on first.

You will need the following materials for our 'Simple Parachute May Fly':

• Hook: Traditional dry fly hook with a slightly longer shank size #8 to #12 (#10 is a universal size for us)
• Wings: CDC feathers (brown to dark brown) Hackle: Whiting Dry Fly hackle or similar
• Tail threads: Three fibres of a pheasant feather or Coq de Leon or Coq de Leon substitute (dark brown grizzly shade)
• Body: Fine dubbing of natural materials or Antron (cream to yellow)

The stages of the mayfly As with the other representatives of the large mayfly family, the female Emphemera Danica also lays her eggs in the water. After approx. 2 to 4 days, she returns to the water surface in a delicate flight and dips her rump into the water several times. In addition to the actual hatching, this process is a very typical moment when trout orientate themselves towards the surface. Immediately after laying its eggs, the mayfly dies and drops into the water. And even now the trout are still active and slurp up the so-called 'spents', which drift flat and lifeless on the surface. On some evenings there can be a veritable 'spinner fall' and the river is covered in a carpet of dead insects. A real treat for hungry brown trout, which now take up position just below the surface like a hoover.

After laying their eggs, the mayfly eggs sink to the bottom of the water and it takes around 2 years for the larvae, which prefer sandy and muddy bottoms and clear water, to make their way to the surface. The larvae of the large mayfly also have a cylindrical body, yellow to brownish in colour and approx. 25 - 30 mm long. The three typical tail filaments are already present here and should not be forgotten when tying a nymph. The subimago Hatch from the shell of this larva, which, in contrast to the adult insect, has a shorter tail and cloudier wings. Only after about 1 to 2 days, which they spend in the bank area of the stream or river, do they moult and then fly back to the water, favouring passages with a steady current. The mating of the mayflies, which Cling to each other in flight and sink to the ground, is a great spectacle that is one of the many fascinating moments in the short life of this very special mayfly. You should be at the water's edge especially before and during dusk if you want to witness the mayfly's wedding dance

Hence our tip no. 3: Observe the water! As fly fishermen we are attentive observers and especially during the mayfly season it is an advantage if we take the time to understand what is happening below, on and above the surface of the water.

By observing the behaviour of the insects and fish, we can recognise exactly what is going on and choose our fly and presentation much more accurately.

Are the fish feeding just below the surface? Then it is time for a light or carefree nymph or an emerger that imitates the stage between larva and subimago. This stage in particular is often difficult to recognise, as it often appears as if the fish are rising. In fact, it is the turning just below the water surface that gives them away when feeding and leads to the wrong choice of fly and presentation.

If, on the other hand, many insects are sitting high on the surface of the water with their wings up, then a hatch is in full swing. The insects are drying their wings and are absolutely helpless. Bingo! Now the fish are taking from the surface and we have to grease our pattern particularly well so that it doesn't sink in. Special CDC oil or CDC powder can be used for this, for example, which does not stick the fine fibres of the duck's rump feathers together and still ensures first-class buoyancy. A good Amadou should also be ready to hand, as the dry fly must always be freed from water. And if that's not enough, then quickly change the pattern. Those who have a full fly box now have an advantage! A targeted presentation to individual rising fish is particularly promising at this stage of the mayfly cycle. It is important to recognise the rhythm of the trout and to present the fly in a clean drift at the right time over the recurring ring on the surface. The more insects on the surface, the more accurate the service must be. This is because the brown trout do not have to move far to get hold of one of the energy-rich morsels. So take your time, observe and position the fly at the right time with a reach cast downstream or a normal cast across the stream.

During egg laying, however, the fish often react particularly aggressively to the females repeatedly touching down on the water. A great way to imitate this behaviour is to combine a large dry fly with a nymph. After a short lift, the dry fly is pulled back to the surface again and again by the weight of the nymph, whereby it is allowed to touch down a little more roughly - because this is typical of the flight behaviour of females during egg laying and a suitable stimulus for large brown trout. This special presentation technique is particularly suitable for fishing at close range or from a raised bank. An absolute tip on meadow streams that are not so suitable for wading!

With the necessary basic knowledge about the life cycle of the mayfly and its influence on the feeding behaviour of trout, we can prepare ourselves very specifically for this exciting time in the fly fishing calendar. However, good preparation involves not only filling the fly box with different patterns, but also putting together the right tackle. There are two important things to consider: Leader and fly line. The leader should not be too thin when fishing with the mayfly. This is not because even very large brown trout orientate themselves towards the surface during this time and pose a danger to our tippet with their weight, but it is mainly due to the size and tying method of our dry flies.

A traditional dry fly hook size #8 to #12, as typically used on a tippet, in combination with a large wing (e.g. from CDC) and long tail feathers - and possibly an elongated body - can cause our leader to twist a lot. Large flies and long, thin leaders rarely get along well and can easily lead to an annoying propeller effect. The result: the leader tip has to be stretched again and again and is no longer usable after a short time.

Therefore our tip no. 4: Choose a 'normal' leader with a slightly thicker tip! A 'normal' leader here means a tapered nylon leader with a length of 9 ft. A longer leader (12 ft. or even 15 ft.) should only be used in absolutely exceptional cases - if the scaring effect is too great. Flurorocarbon is not recommended because the fly has to drift very high in most cases. An exception to this is of course the presentation of a mayfly nymph or an emerger just below the surface, for which we can also use FC.

The tippet can be thicker, especially when the trout are still reacting very impetuously to our fly. A leader tip of .16 mm is not atypical for the combination with a large mayfly! To support the high drift of the pattern on the water surface, the leader can also be greased, whereby the last 30 to 50 cm of the tippet (i.e. directly in front of the fly) should not be treated in order to reduce the scaring effect.

But it's not just the leader that we can pay attention to. We can also make life a little easier for ourselves when choosing a suitable fly line during the mayfly season. How? With a short-bodied line! A large fly has a higher wind resistance and a bushy pattern requires a little more energy to be transported cleanly through the air. That's why we like to choose floating lines with a slightly more compact belly during the mayfly season - whereas otherwise we are fans of long, gently tapered tapers for dry fly fishing. A fly line with a taper of 8 to 11 metres makes it much easier for you to present a bushy mayfly with voluminous wings and allows you to position your pattern effectively with just a few empty casts. In short: Whether wade fishing or from the bank, a crisp fly line is a must for us during the mayfly season.

Speaking of the bank: Here is our last tip. The right clothing! If we spend a lot of time on the banks of streams and rivers, patiently waiting for the mayfly to hatch at dusk or watching a large brown trout emerge from cover in the undergrowth, then we are particularly susceptible to ticks - which are particularly fond of wreaking havoc at this time of year.

That's why our tip no. 5: Choose the right clothing! The Bugstopper series from Simms is our first choice for protection against ticks. The special Insect Shield® technology that Simms utilises for its successful Bugstopper series offers demonstrably effective protection against various insects, including ticks. It is not without reason that these garments are becoming increasingly popular, because they deliver what they promise! Their effectiveness is not only proven by our personal experience, but also by numerous scientific studies. In contrast to conventional insect repellent sprays, this form of protection is odourless and absolutely harmless. No repeated spraying, no chemical agents that attack the coating of our fly line. The Insect Shield® active ingredient is firmly bonded to the fibres of the fabric using a complex process, which means that the insect protection has been proven to last for at least 70 washes - this corresponds to the expected service life of garments!

You can find the entire Bugstopper series from Simms for protection against ticks, midges and other insects for unadulterated enjoyment of the mayfly season in our range.

We wish you a great mayfly season and tight lines!