Mayfly

[mikench]

I know these are used for fly fishing but has anyone tried one( wet or dry) with a float rod and is there a best technique? I assume being light they will be difficult to cast but possible.

I don't recall ever seeing mayflies erupting from the water in my fishing experience but do when walking near a river or lake( a loch in my case).

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I have never tried it myself other than when dapping for dace some years ago. In that case you use a sort of a floss line that makes the "cast" easier, although you are basically fishing off the end of the rod rather than casting, per se.

You could possibly use one of those old style bubble floats, or carp controller, and try it with a dry version . . . . .

The day before yesterday there was a large mayfly hatch on my local stretch of the Avon and the trout were having a field day.

 

[bullet]

Mike, when i was a lad we used to fish dry flies on a small spinning rod on overgrown streams.
A short piece of stick, attached with float rubbers provided the weight required for casting.
I think the fly and bubble, as Peter mentions, is quite popular in Ireland.
Our stick method also worked well with live Daddy long legs, if you could keep them on the hook.

 

[S-Kippy]

As PJ says the nearest method would, I guess, be dapping with a floss " blow line" to catch the wind. Used for both the artificial and natural mayfly on the big Irish loughs. I guess with the lightness of modern materials you could use a much longer rod ( or pole) than the hernia sticks originally used.

Been mayfly pouring off the Thames for weeks now....both Danica and Vulgata. They really are the most wonderful things.

 

[tigger]

Mike, you can get a fly rod cheap to play about with.
If you want to try one out I have one you can have a go with. I'm no fly angler but it really isn't difficult to do.
I can try and give you an amauter lesson if you like?
I have played with 'em on rivers and still waters and caught dace, chub, carp and trout, so pretty easy really.

Czech nymphing is only mono if i'm not wrong? It's a method i've seen people using at close quarters on the river, i'm sure you could do it easy enough with a float rod.

 

[mikench]

Cheers chaps. I’ll take you up on that Ian. Showing my ignorance why a dry fly as mayflies develop in the water and must be wet when they hit the surface?

 

[S-Kippy]

Cheers chaps. I’ll take you up on that Ian. Showing my ignorance why a dry fly as mayflies develop in the water and must be wet when they hit the surface?

A dry fly is treated to float on the surface of the water whereas a wet fly is fished sub surface. Mayflies rest on the surface of the water for a bit after hatching and also are found on the surface when they return to lay their eggs and die. That is what's called a " spent gnat" . You can fish a mayfly nymph "wet" but if mayfly are hatching you are better off fishing a dry imitation.

 

[tigger]

Cheers chaps. I’ll take you up on that Ian. Showing my ignorance why a dry fly as mayflies develop in the water and must be wet when they hit the surface?

You say when Mike, you can borrow the rod and reel anytime you like also. I've got a mixture of flies you can use to go with it.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

For Czech nymphing you don't have to use a fly rod as all patterns are heavily weighted but to ensure a decent rate of descent it is best to use a fairly long tapered leader, (but not as long as those use for French nymphing as those can be up to 20 feet long)

On my local river in France Czech nymphing is pretty popular although I usually stick to standard wet or dry fly methods.

 

[tigger]

For Czech nymphing you don't have to use a fly rod as all patterns are heavily weighted but to ensure a decent rate of descent it is best to use a fairly long tapered leader, (but not as long as those use for French nymphing as those can be up to 20 feet long)

On my local river in France Czech nymphing is pretty popular although I usually stck to standard wet or dry fly methods.

I see more and more fly anglers czech nymping nowadays, but for the biggest part they use shortish fly rods. They usually wade out to faster water and seem to by targetting trout. After witnessing their results I think i'd tip my hook with a maggot.
On a few occasions I have seen anglers using the method for grayling up on the eden and they were more successful, then again, there was a lot more fish!

 

[Peter Jacobs]

It can be a very good method for Grayling especially on a river where there is a good population of them, but it is not a method that I have used much. If I were to spend any great time at it then I'd definitely opt for a fly rod myself.

On my local river in France (the Sorgue) wading is not allowed until later in the year hence the longer rods.

 

[markcw]

If you have a pole, try dapping/dobbing a fly along the rushes at the far side on a commercial, just have a topkit set up ready for when fish start topping along there picking bits off the surface, these could be carp or silvers ,you never know what you will catch next. Also try the margins about 5 metres along,where you should have a good chance of seeing the fly.If not just watch the stonfo to either rattle or pull out with take.
Just lower it onto the surface and wait for a bite, this can be a small pluck at the fly or a vicious take,
This also works at the edge of the scum line on end pegs of snake lakes/strip canal.
Check fishery rules first.

 

[tigger]

I can see Mike now...in stealth mode as he roaves along the river banks, ducking and diving under the trees etc with a 40ft pole .

 

[mikench]

I can't . I can cope with a rod just but a pole! No chance.

 

[no-one in particular]

I have dabbled a fly over reed beds, a big black one on a small river/stream with reeds along the edge of it. No need to cast, just lean over but stay as hidden as you can be and dob the fly on the surface, watching chub come up to it is a real heart stopping experience. Many ducked away at the last minute but I hooked a few. You could do this with a mayfly pattern I would think and a coarse rod but I found chub liked the big furry black ones.
I think a small bubble float and fly could be used with a coarse rod although I have never tried it. basically it is just using something else as a weight which is all a fly line is really.