Successful mayfly pattern earns spot in Paul’s fave flies list
Trout love taking Danica mayflies when the spring hatches emerge
Everything about this fly is easy: easy to tie, easy to use, easy to love. And on top of all this, takes and catches are practically guaranteed. This is why the Detached Body Mayfly is one of our Paul’s favourite flies every time the month of May comes along.
But first, allow me to tell you about the real-life mayfly, specifically the ones from the species Danica.
At the start of every spring, enormous numbers of large adult mayflies of the species Danica float up from the bottom to a river’s surface. This happens at the end of a larval stage that can last for years. Although this is called a ‘hatch‘, this synchronous emergence is actually triggered by light and temperature conditions in the water. And as these hatches typically occur during the last two weeks of May, these up-wing insects are called mayflies.
During May and June, when you’re just looking at the river, not actually fishing, you can chance upon a real mayfly hatch. You focus on that one fly as it struggles to take off from the water surface, its wings not yet fully dry. And you see it carried by the current, and you think and wonder how long that fly can go unnoticed by predators. And then out of nowhere a trout comes up and takes it. It’s quite mesmerising, just watching a true mayfly being taken.
These insects are an integral part of the river food chain. Mayflies are food to many birds, fish, and amphibians. The Danica species are quite big, averaging to almost an inch in length. They provide a good healthy meal for trout in a single gulp. When they become aware of a hatch, trout go on a feeding frenzy.
And it’s so easy to tie the Detached Body Mayfly
Fly tying enthusiasts take advantage of mayfly hatches by tying artificial fishing flies that closely resemble them. These artificial flies are modelled after a very small number of mayfly impressions, among them the Danica imitations that is one of our Paul’s favourites.
This one is easily recognisable because only one end of the body is tied onto the shank of the hook. The other end hangs free. This makes it more lifelike than some other flies that we tie. That’s also why it’s called a (you guessed it) Detached Body Mayfly.
To achieve the white ‘globs‘ of the body, take a bit of white foam, put a needle through it then with your tying thread, make the tail on it. Next, form those segmentations in the body with the same tying thread. Once done, this part is tied onto the hook shank together with the hackles and the legs.
How to fish it and handle drag: essential tips
If you agree that this mayfly pattern is easy to tie, it’s even easier to fish with.
It is designed to be a dry fly, so it sits on the water surface and you allow the current to carry it downstream because that’s what the trout are expecting. As it floats away from you, there’s really no need to give it any action. You might twitch your rod once in a while but that’s it.
The Detached Body Mayfly is quite a big fly and very obvious to the trout. On a river, the current will be sufficient to give your fly the right amount of natural motion it needs. During a mayfly hatch, it is going to be amongst all the real ones. Most of the time, yours is the one to fool trout into taking it.
It’s so simple to use this fly that even a novice will find it is easy. It might just take them a little bit of time to learn how to handle ‘drag‘.
Drag is where the fly starts to go through the water quicker than what a natural would be doing. You have to learn to recognise drag and then to adjust so that it goes back to floating in a natural manner down the river. This ensures the trout isn’t put off by any sort of unnatural movement.
It does take some experience to recognise that drag is happening and that you have to correct. When this happens, quite often you just re-cast upstream and try again.
When spring is in the air, that’s your cue
Paul, one of our resident contributors, rates this mayfly pattern as one of his Five Favourite Flies. The reason couldn’t be more obvious: in his experience, he’s had a high success rate with it.
‘I like this fly because I catch fish on it,‘ says Paul.
Even though it’s simple and easy to tie, the finished product is a very good imitation of the real thing. And when you’re fishing during a feeding frenzy, any duffer can catch something, even if they’re not very good at fly fishing. This is why the last two weeks in May are called duffer’s fortnight.
Yes, the Detached Body Mayfly is one of Paul’s favourite flies.
‘But,‘ says Paul with a wink ‘you tend to use it only during a couple of weeks of the year.‘
If you’re interested in tying your own flies including this mayfly pattern, sign up for a taster evening with the Fly Dressers’ Guild – Wessex. Fill out our contact form and we’ll get back to you right away.
Photo courtesy of Paul
