I love mayfly fishing. There’s not much I like more than fishing a dainty dry and getting a slurp from a trout. Mayfly fishing can be technical and heartbreaking. One of the ways I break down mayflies is by tying several different versions of the insect to entice a fish to strike. I have lost count of the times I have found a pod of feeding trout, threw a pattern, gotten the snub, switched to a different version or representation of the bug, and come up with a troot. I love figuring out the perfect drift and pattern to get that completely unabashed sluuurp, from a wary fish that has been duped. Mmmm….success. That competition between angler and wild animal…it’s what gets the juices flowing.

Mayfly eaters can be picky, especially on the Yak, and with the BWO hatch only weeks away and the March Browns soon after…my dreams are filled with pods of hungry spooky fish.

I created a series of YouTube videos breaking down mayfly hatches, which flies I use and how to tie them, and when, where, and how I fish them. Breaking down a mayfly hatch and fishing it with a purpose can produce a lot more takes on your fly and get a few more troots to your net.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Tamarack