Guide
IllustrationMayfly Nymph
Nymph#10–12olive / brownBest: May–Jun
When to use
Fished on a floating or slow intermediate line ahead of and during the mayfly hatch, worked with a slow figure-of-eight or short pulls to suggest the nymph's swim to the surface; also effective as the point fly fished under a dry mayfly or emerger during a hatch.
Imitates
Mayfly (Ephemera danica) nymph, the burrowing nymph stage trout take as it swims up to hatch.
Team position
Point fly, often fished under a dry mayfly or emerger on the same leader.
Best methods
Figure-of-eightDead-drift
Dressing
- Hook
- nymph hook, #10–12, weighted
- Thread
- brown or olive 6/0
- Tail
- 3 pheasant tail fibre tips
- Body
- olive-brown or amber mayfly-nymph dubbing, tapered, with a poly-yarn or raffia rib for segmentation
- Rib
- fine gold wire or clear poly rib
- Hackle
- short brown partridge or hen fibres for legs, sparse, at the thorax
- Wing
- pheasant tail wingcase over the thorax
- Head
- thread head
'Mayfly Nymph' is a category name; dressing follows the widely-used poly-rib mayfly nymph template common to Irish and UK tyers rather than one single named pattern.
Pairs with
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