realistic flies for fishing?

[federico 0]

Some time ago I wrote an article for an italian magazine, the title was "Per aspera ad astra" it's a latin sentence and in english it sounds: "difficulties brings you to the stars" (or something similar). In this article I started from a photo of a mayfly taken underwater, and from photos of most popular patterns from the same point of view.

The result was that many patterns was totally different from a real insect, and the traditional hackle of many flies are qiute the opposite from the silouette of a mayfly on the water.

When we fish super difficult trouts on slow water, we need some more imitative flies of traditional patterns.

That's a photo of a real mayfly, how do you imitate it?

 

P.S. if someone wish to see the article send me an E-mail and I'll send a pdf format (the article is in italian and I've not the time to traslate it, but I think the photos are intersting)

[federico 0]

and this is one of my pattern for the "impossible" situations.

Federico

[federico 0]

....and that's a photo of the fly.

[Graham 0]

Hi federico, Very interesting and your fly looks great! I'm wondering, was the top photo taken from underwater? I'm also wondering if mayfly dun's ever get drowned and sink to the bottom of a trout stream or do they float like little wine corks? I'm having problems with my more realistic mayflies floating upright. I've been wondering if I could fish them on the bottom with a sinking line. I would love see your article and pictures.

 

Thank you for sharing,

 

Graham

 

[federico 0]

Hi Graham, the position of a mayfly on the water depends by the strenght of superficial tension. This strenght has many variations according with temperature or different ions in the water.

If sup. tension is low insects can break out easily, if it's hight they need more power to break superficial film and sometimes they cannot and die trapped in the film (crippled and stilborns are great in this case).

The dimension of the mayfly are also important, the biggest will float with the terminal part of abdomen on the water, smallest bugs floats on the film only with legs.

Wow, you don't imagine how difficult is for me write in english on this argoments! I hope my translation is correct.

 

I cannot to send you the file with the article, because it's impossible to attach files using the messanger of the forum, send me an e-mail directly and I'll send you the pdf file.

My e-mail is [email protected] (leave -nospam-)

Federico

[Graham 0]

Hi federico, I sent an e-mail to your address and it bounced back?

[CrustySpinnr 0]

Excellent looking fly federico! What materials did you use? Is it tied hook up? Graham ,I don't know if dun's get underwater but I do know spinners do. You can fish a sunk spinner pattern just like a nymph. I have tied several this winter and can't wait for the summer to try them out. Federico,again that is a very good looking fly!

[Shaq 0]

Graham,

 

SOme mayflies actually hatch on the bottom and swim up to the surface AS a dun already. You can tie dun imitations with a swept back wing and fish them on a swing with a floating line simulating the dun rising to the surface. Check your local hatch guides then reference the species entomology for more details, SOme light cahils and sulphers in my area do this. Can also do the smae thing with caddisflies as when they come back to deposit their eggs the females will dip under the water and some actually swim to the bottom to deposit. Hope this helps.

 

Shaq

[federico 0]

sorry Graham, you have to remove -no spam- from the adress, I was tired yesterday and I made a big error (In italian "to remove" is translated with "levare" that sounds similar at "to leave" wich has the opposite sense.

 

about mayflies hatches, we have 3 different ways:

Classical: a nimph breaks the surface film and float on the water (most of species).

Another way is the Ecdionurus one (in Italy), this bug come out from water "walking" as a nimph on a stone or a piece of floating wood.

And after there is the way written by Shaq: the trasformation from nimph to dun is underwater and the film is breaked by the dun. I don't know if there is a scientific study about this way of hatching, maybe breaking the film is more difficult for a dun so when the sup. tension is hight (for exemple when temperature is low) you can find several crippled of theese fies.

Federico.

[Alex C. 0]

Hey Graham-

 

I just read on another site that female mayflies sometimes will crawl along the botom of the stream to lay their eggs

[Saltydog 0]

Federico, VERY NICE!!!!!!!

GOOD LUCK GOOD TYIN

[pakito 0]

Excellent fly federico

[federico 0]

Pakito, thanks for the compliments, I sent an e-mail to the site you have under your meaasge, if you are in tuch with them read the mail and contact me.

Federico.