Being a relative newcomer to fly tying I never sit at my vice trying to discover ground breaking new patterns. I like most of us, tie to have a good selection of imitative flies that both look good in my box and most importantly in the water.
I am always scouring the internet and magazines for ideas and materials to incorporate into my fly tying. I have found these excellent ‘Siman Mayfly Tube Bodies’ available from the Jan Siman Website, which along with very few materials, and a little time, create what I think is a lifelike mayfly which sits superbly in the water.
MATERIALS:
- Hook – Tiemco 206BL or Grip 14723BL #12
- Thread – Uni 8/0 black
- Abdomen/Tail – Siman May Fly Tube Body
- Thorax – Superfine Black dubbing
- Wing – CDC feathers natural
- Hackle–Medium ginger cock cape
TYING:
This is a relatively simple tie with the most difficult thing being to get the proportions right. I used (as I do with some of my dry patterns if unsure) the excellent book Matching the Hatch to get a feel for the size of the real fly and then try to match the proportion of the materials from that. Obviously the real thing would be better but the hatch of Mayfly in my garage where my vice sits has never been that great!
Here’s a guide that I came to after messing about at the vice. I feel the #12 about right with the hook I’ve used, although one size up or down will work:
- Abdomen – 10mm which then should leave 35mm to 40mm including the tails.
- Wing length – Approx 10mm
- Hackle - No more than 6 to 8mm. Must be noticeably shorter than the wing.
1. Vice up a size 12 grip 14723BL and catch in thread at eye, winding 5mm down the shank, which should be in line with the point of hook.
2. Tie in mayfly body with two or three turns. Once you are sure the proportions are as you want, wind on several nice tight turns both on top of and behind the body. This lifts the abdomen nicely away from the hook and makes sure the body does not slip around the shank.
3. Snip off waste and tidy up with nice tight turns. Return thread to eye.
4. Tie in hackle just below the eye, with the stem facing the tail. Snip off waste and tidy up, leaving thread halfway between the eye and where the abdomen leaves the shank.
5. Select three or four CDC feathers (depending on density) to form the wings. Make sure the tips are roughly aligned. Tie in halfway between the eye and abdomen, making sure to wind several turns of thread behind the wings to make them stand up.
6. To help the wing stand up further I lightly dub the thread with superfine dubbing and wind three to four turns behind the wing before returning the thread back up to the eye.
7. Wind the hackle back towards the wing three turns in front and then three turns behind the wing then wind one or two turns take the hackle back up towards the eye. Catch in the waste just behind the eye with one or two turns of the thread.
Winding the hackle.
Catching in the waste.
8. Push all the hackle fibres back and tidy up with a couple more turns. If happy there are no loose fibres whip finish, trim off waste hackle and using a needle apply varnish to head.
The fly is complete
9. Optional, and down to personal preference, I trim off the hackles underneath the fly so it sits nicely in the surface film.
The Finished Fly
Look out for these:
1. Proportions! Double check all aspects of the fly if you are not happy undo the materials and start again.
2. Make sure all materials are tied in firmly, ensuring they don’t slip around the shank
3. Make sure your hackle is long enough to make the necessary turns required.
Fishing the fly:
There’s little I need to say about fishing the fly, as little changes from that of most dry fly fishing.
But I asked casting guru Jim Williams his advice on casting what for most of us is a bigger than average fly.
"Tiers tend to emphasise greatly the size of the wing and its form whether upwing, spent or a multitude of angles in between. This wing can in turn impact heavily on potential leader twist during the cycle of cast (sort of helicopter scenario). Keep false casting down to an absolute minimum and ensure leader design/construction is not too soft or thin so as not to provide mass/substance with which to turn over the fly"
Summary:
Although this pattern is made simple with the pre-made bodies there is still a little thought required.
I feel the hook is important, the shape and the weight both help the fly to ‘sit’ in the water. I have not split the wings as you will find in many Mayfly patterns as I am happy for the CDC to give a ‘reasonably close’ wing shape and colour (You may prefer it more detailed). Although I would do so if tying a ‘spent fly’ due to the obvious change in silhouette required with one or two of the wings touching the water.
I have experimented with threading the body up the hook shank before tying it in but feel the body no longer appears detached and does not sit as low in the water. My aim is to try and leave a large proportion of the bare hook remaining under the water. This ensures the fly sits upright as it should when landing, the weight of the hook acting as ballast. I also feel this has got to improve the chance of a good hook hold on the take.
Finally as with most fly tying materials these days the bodies come in a range of colours and sizes so as always experiment to suit your personal needs. I firmly believe fly tying articles should offer the reader ideas and a rough blue print for the fly, so they go on to tie the fly they need in their box.
I Hope your ‘Mayfly moments’ live up to your expectations, have a great month.
You can contact Warren via email or call him on 07771 558 028.