Worth Viewing about Mayflies

[Steve Molcsan]

If you have an interest in mayflies this is for you...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_HEz...eature=related



Steve

[TyroneFly]

Wow! I am thinking I need to make my tails longers on some of my mayfly patterns.

Thanks for sharing.

[Fly Tyer]

holy mayfly batman!

[sandhiller]

Better think Godzilla version of Micro-Fibetts for the tailing.

[Lotech]

Thanks a million Steve! That was fantastic.

[tlerm]

Holy cow, that was great. I'll have to watch that several more times. I'm going to show it to my kids too.

[Joe Hyde]

For reasons unknown to us computer-challenged types, I got to watch only about 15 seconds of this 4+ minute video before the image locked up.

But in that short time I was able to see something I've never seen before and have always been curious about; namely, what body position does a mayfly nymph assume once it rises to the surface at the moment of hatch?

Answer: the nymph lays itself out flat in the prone position, just below the surface tension. Talk about a juicy silhouetted target!

I can now stop worrying if a nymph pattern I cast out fails to sink immediately upon touchdown. Indeed, I think an argument can be made that if you're out fishing when a hatch commences, it is useful to have inside your fly box a few nymph patterns whose top sides have been pre-treated with floatant? This would help hold your nymph pattern at the surface longer and thus expose it to attack.

Or not. Who knows, maybe fish prefer grabbing the mayfly's more visually stimulating phase -- the winged adult -- during its initial wingbeats to gain altitude.

I'm gonna try to find this video on YouTube directly so that I can watch the entire clip. Pretty cool stuff; thanks Steve!


Joe
"Better small than not at all."

[Ironhead]

For reasons unknown to us computer-challenged types, I got to watch only about 15 seconds of this 4+ minute video before the image locked up.

But in that short time I was able to see something I've never seen before and have always been curious about; namely, what body position does a mayfly nymph assume once it rises to the surface at the moment of hatch?

Answer: the nymph lays itself out flat in the prone position, just below the surface tension. Talk about a juicy silhouetted target!

I can now stop worrying if a nymph pattern I cast out fails to sink immediately upon touchdown. Indeed, I think an argument can be made that if you're out fishing when a hatch commences, it is useful to have inside your fly box a few nymph patterns whose top sides have been pre-treated with floatant? This would help hold your nymph pattern at the surface longer and thus expose it to attack.

Or not. Who knows, maybe fish prefer grabbing the mayfly's more visually stimulating phase -- the winged adult -- during its initial wingbeats to gain altitude.

I'm gonna try to find this video on YouTube directly so that I can watch the entire clip. Pretty cool stuff; thanks Steve!


Joe
"Better small than not at all."

During a hatch I've had great success stripping an unweighted pheasant tail just under the surface or using a strike indicator about a half a foot above one and just letting it sit in stillwater.

[Joe Hyde]

Thanks, Ironhead; that is an excellent tactic.

Actually, I used that tactic last year during early springtime, tossing one of Rick Z.'s PTNs around dusk. Caught lots of bluegills and crappie.

Last fall before my trip west to the Idaho Fish-In I reorganized my flies with an eye toward using primarily dry fly patterns for trout fishing. Haven't gotten around yet to returning my fly box to its former content combination (which included a few PTNs). The PTNs are still in storage.

Earlier this week at the lake I spotted some very small mayflies buzzing around. So I tried using a tiny Hare's Ear Nymph as a substitute for last year's PTN. Exact same fishing spot, exact same shallow stripping presentation that worked last spring, same time of day, same insect activity going on, same surface feeding action happening...but no luck using a HEN. Maybe a PTN is just a better mayfly nymph imitator under certain circumstances. Beats me.

[Steve Molcsan]

Nice to see again and again!