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Insects such as Mayflies, Stoneflies and Dragonflies that have part of their life cycle in the water provide a significant part of a trouts diet.

For a Mayfly Life begins as an egg. Gestation period is only a few days and the hatched nymph is a miniature of the adult except for the wings and tail. The juvenile nymph instinctively heads for cover which depending on the insect in question may be weed beds, decaying vegetation, sand, gravel, stones or drowned timber. Some Mayfly nymphs are burrowers others are sedentary and yet others are free swimming. In any case they are all targets for hunting trout. After hatching the immature nymph goes through up to 30 instars or changes of skin before reaching its final instar or mature nymph stage. The nymphal stage lasts from a few months up to three years. The next stage is the hatch. This involves rising to the surface of the water, shedding its final nymphal skin (or shuck) as it breaks through the surface tension of the water so as to reveal its wings. Mayfly nymphs are particularly vulnerable as they rise to the surface and break through the surface tension of the water and often you will find trout moving around taking them just below the surface. The next stage in the life Cycle of the Mayfly involves the Mayfly resting on the surface tension of the water just long enough for its wings to dry. Again its very vulnerable at this sub-imago stage and it is common to find trout moving around sucking them through the surface or even breaking the surface of the water as they these sub-imago Mayflies. Often you will find that the timing of a hatch as alluded to above coincides with warmer evenings with little or no wind. These conditions allow the wings to dry quickly and there are no waves to drown the sub-imago.

The Mayfly spends its adult imago life of only a few days as a terrestrial insect and then returns to the water generally on mass to lay its eggs. The male fertilizes the female above the water and then the female lays its eggs either in the water or just above the water. During this stage the adult Mayfly is again vulnerable to trout. Whether a trout takes the female at this stage is largely irrelevant as this is the final stage in the life cycle of the male and female Mayfly and the spent adults litter the water surface where they become a smorgasbord for casual sipping trout.

Mayflies in all their stages and in all their variations have received perhaps the most attention of all insects when it come tying flies. As a consequence there is a plethora of imitations and versions and variations of imitations available all of which may work well at one time or another.

Unless you want to clutter your fly box up with flies that you will never use carry, unless there is a particular Mayfly that you expect to encounter, stay away from specific imitations and carry a range of generic flies in a range of colours and sizes. A well-presented and well fished generic pattern of the same general form and colour, as a natural will work just as well as any specific imitation. If however you are going to a fishery where you expect to see say Kosciuszko Duns make sure you have a specific imitation because Kosciuszko Duns are bigger and different in form to the generic flies that I've detailed below and in the fly recipes. Always observe what's happening around you and make an informed choice of fly and system based on what you can see and on what you know. Try to match the general form and colour of the insect with your fly. And remember, not withstanding the need to experiment, when it counts, only fish a fly and system you have confidence in.

Mayfly nymph examples

Nymphs can be fished in the current with as little line drag as possible, can be retrieved at various speeds or can be fished on the drop or through the lift. General form and colour together with presentation and how you fish them will help you fool the fish into thinking that there something that on the trouts shopping list.

Mayfly emerger examples

When mayflies are emerging and trout are sipping the emergers off the surface of the water an emerger pattern is an obvious choice. These flies are designed to sit in the surface film of the water generally with the hook hanging below the surface like a trailing shuck.

Mayfly dun examples

The time that it takes for a mayfly to emerge from its nymphal stage to dun stage can be as little as a few seconds in the cases of many members of the Caenis family to several minutes for members of the Baetis, Lepto and Coloburiscidae families.

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