great short video on Mayflies

[Byron haugh]

This really nice video might dispel a common belief....or maybe not.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PBHBfck67D8

[Allan]

Interesting video. There are several instances where the 'dun' is floating with its wings separated. This kind of dispels the frequently held opinion that duns always float like sailboats with one upright wing. This can be seen around 1:50, 2:05 and 2:34. Additionally, near 3:12 the video isolates a female spinner dropping her eggs and her wings are clearly flapping.

[Byron haugh]

The video makes a much stronger case for a sparkle dun style with the trailing shuck in the film v. The Klinkhammer concept. Not that a Klinkhammer doesn't work....it does, but perhaps not as well as a sparkle dun style.

[Jeremy]

The video makes a much stronger case for a sparkle dun style with the trailing shuck in the film v. The Klinkhammer concept. ... but perhaps not as well as a sparkle dun style.

My feelings exactly, based mainly on what I've come to find and having friends agree. Good vid!.

Jeremy.

[AlanB]

Don't worry, if you fish a Klinkhamer on that water you will be asked to leave and not return. By "dry fly only" on the R. Wye, they mean dry. No part of the fly may pass through the surface film. They will let just the hook of a spent pattern hang down but all the dressing should be on the surface. The Fly fishing shop at Bakewell is one shop I tie for, so have to be aware of the very strict rules.

If you get the chance to fish it you should at least once. It is one of the rivers Izack Walton fished. Fortunately the other occupation of the fishing guides in that area in Izack's day is no longer required. They were known as "Fishing guide and shoulder" The shoulder part came from guiding the anglers over the hills to get to the river. The shoulder being the person who you leaned on to get out of the bogs.

I have fished it during the may fly hatch, the heaviest hatch is well named "Duffers Fortnight" Huge fish throwing themselves at large insects require little skill to catch. Though fishing it at that time does require deep pockets.

At 4.05 in the video you see a mayfly spinner with one wing caught in the surface. Philip White, who was, at one point, a river keeper on the Wye, observed trout often select that stage and ignore the fully spent pattern. For this reason he developed spent patterns with wings at 90 degrees rather than the usual 180.

Though the video does dispel one popular myth, about the hanging emerger, it doesn't question the other about the 2 year nymphal stage. It isn't known if this is true or not. The nymph, it is best to say, lives for up to two years before emerging. Many will emerge after only one year.

If you have chance to visit Derbyshire then put this on your list as a must do. The Wye is one of the most beautiful rivers in the UK. It is the only river system that has wild rainbows as well.

Cheers,
A.

[mickporter]

I fish the Derbyshire Wye as well as the River Hodder here. I think one thing to point out (which is made briefly in the video), is that in the UK not all upwinged flies are termed Mayfiles. A mayfly is a separate species and the mayfly hatches happen usually for a very short period at the end of May beginning of June.

Other upwings such as the large olives, blue winged olives etc etc. hatch in spasms at other times. Evening time normally being best but flies can hatch at other times.

I believe that in the US mayflies are any of the Ephemeroptera family of flies.

[Byron haugh]

Mick,
Are you suggesting that you don't use the same entomology designations as in the US?
I realize that common names vary as they are "common" names.
And I believe the video was referring to a certain member of the mayfly family, and calling it by a "common" name rather than its specific scientific name.

[Allan]

By "dry fly only" on the R. Wye, they mean dry. No part of the fly may pass through the surface film. They will let just the hook of a spent pattern hang down but all the dressing should be on the surface. The Fly fishing shop at Bakewell is one shop I tie for, so have to be aware of the very strict rules.

Cheers,
A.

Alan,

Do you mean to say that all the hackle collared dry flies used on the R. Wye rest on the hackle tips so that the hackle does not break the surface film? Call me crazy or maybe the surface film in your rivers/streams is oil and not water. If none of those, let us know the source for the hackle you use.

Allan

[The Chronicler]

Alan,
Interesting observation about the spinner with one wing stuck in the film as being selected over the fully spent fly. Vince Marinaro tied some of his spinners with a slightly V'd wing so that, according to Vince, they would roll from one wing to the other and thus be more attractive to the trout.

Not likely I'll ever get acroos the Pond to fish this hatch but it looks like fun.

The Chronicler

[AlanB]

Allan,

No. Floating indicates displacement of water. Even when a traditional dry fly rests with its body on the surface it is held there by the surface tension. It doesn't "float" in terms of displacing a greater weight of water than its own weight (Archimedes principal does not apply to such small objects). Rather it is standing on the surface. One test may be, if you pull it under, does it pop back up into the same floating position?

If what you are talking about is some of the hackle fibres penetrating the surface. Once contact is made with enough surface area of hackle and body it is held in place by the meniscus, not its own buoyancy. That's the different kind of surface flies I was talking of.

Cheers,
A.