May Fly
13 Jun 2025
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May Fly
The May Fly imitation, each mimicking one of the thousands of species for this insect, ranging from nymph to dry fly.
How it's tied
The Mayfly Pattern comes in many varieties and sizes, tied on hooks ranging from size 22 to 8, depending on the target species and specific mayfly being imitated. Mayfly patterns can represent various stages of the mayfly lifecycle. The ones you see in the picture here is the most well known adult form. Materials such as dubbing, synthetic fibers, or natural materials like hackle feathers or deer hair can be used for the body, wings, and legs. Tail fibers can be made from materials like microfibbets, hackle fibers, or pheasant tail fibers.
What it mimics
The Mayfly Pattern is designed to imitate various species of mayflies, an essential food source for many fish species in freshwater environments. If you thought there is just one, there are more than 3000 species of mayflies, grouped in 42 families. If you're interested in reading more about the May Fly species, check out this page on Wikipedia.
The Mayfly Pattern can be tied in various sizes, colors, and forms to match the specific mayfly species found in different fishing environments.
Where it's used
The Mayfly Pattern is effective in a wide variety of waters, including rivers, streams, and lakes. Read up on the water that you're visiting to understand which May Fly species are present, and in which stage they are at the moment you're going fishing.
The most well known waters, where fly fishers from all over the world travel to in order to experience a May Fly hatch, are probably the English chalk streams.
Fly tying video for the May Fly
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