Sometimes figuring out what is going on during Mayfly hatch is confusing. Here is a simple and easy for you to remember and profit from the different parts of the hatch.
Phase 1: Egg – Not crucial to anglers
Stage 2: Nymph – Not a big deal, they spend their entire existence under dirt or under rocks hiding from predators. These are slackly knocked off in the water column to be eaten by fish.
Phase 3: Emerger standing – If no fish are rising, nymph weighted flies or emerger nymph flies under an indicator down deep in the water column
If there are fish high in the water column or you observe fish rising to the surface like a porpoise and sipping or gently sucking down food, fish a emerger dry fly or a small unweighted nymph emerger on a piece of greased tippet.
This will enable the small nymph to dangle immediately beneath the surface of the water, mirroring the last stage of a nymph emergers ascent to the water surface.
Stage 4: Duns - That's obvious. If you have fish heads coming out ABOVE the surface of the river and open mouths munching on the small sailboat size insects floating on the surface feed them an honest dry fly pattern that matches the size and color. This is dry fly fishing at its best.
Phase 5: Spinner Fall – This might be the hardest phase for the angler to crack. A spinner fall will frequently appear to be fish eating emergers. A lot of trout will be poirpoising on the top of the river, but they won’t eat emergers.
Closer inspection is required to determine if there are adult mayflies lying flat on the water. Now is the time to be casting a spinner pattern fly flush to the river’s surface.
Which Mayflies are Significant to Fly Fishing
Wherever you’re fishing, you will encounter different mayfly hatches that will be significant to you. I’d recommend you visit your local fly shops and get to know the many species in your area from local hatch charts.
Moreover, mayflies have various common names that are specific to different regions and fly-fishing styles. This can lead to confusion in trying to figure out what the mayfly hatches are. Here are a few that all anglers should be aware of as they are generally significant in the trout diet.
A fish will focus on a particular size, color and sex. It’s very frustrating fishing as you know all the fish on the river could be up and all the stakes are refusals.
That's why they call them the white wing curse. Several colors of male and female dries are a good idea to have at your disposal. You start by male, and if you don’t end up with the male, you end up with the female. Say what if you are catching fish and then suddenly stop catching trout but they are still rising...using the opposite sex of the mayfly.
Final Thoughts
If you are new to fly fishing and know little or nothing about the mayfly hatch and want to learn more, call the Santa Fe fly fishing guide pros at Artful Angler today at 505-603-2119