If memory serves me correctly it was usually the first few days of June

Many years ago, in fact more years than I care to remember, my father would take me off to the river Kennet for a days trout fishing during ‘Duffers Fortnight’ as it was known. If memory serves me correctly it was usually the first few days of June. In those far off days we thought brown trout could be caught in great numbers as they gorged on the mayfly which hatched in their thousands for just a few days of the year. Nothing could be further from the truth. I do remember correctly though, that very few fish were taken. In fact, for the first few days of the hatch these fish can be so very frustrating, often making us feel and act like duffers as we struggled to catch. And, on the rare occasions when we did catch, we thought a 15 inch brown trout was a good one. What we did learn during the so called duffers fortnight was that the river held some huge resident trout. I remember one afternoon around tea time watching enthralled as two huge brown trout weighing about 6 or 7lbs were cruising around the surface eating mayflies only a couple of feet from the bank Uncle Eddy tried for them without success, as did another angler. As we sat outside the waterside Tavern that evening, the keeper told my Uncle over a pint that two anglers the previous day had tried to catch the fish without success. These were certainly big fish, not only to a young angler but also to the keeper and the other fisherman. Common sense tells me if several hundred, sometimes thousands of mayflies are drifting down the current struggling in their death throes, then the chances of a fish taking my artificial fly are pretty slim. In fact I have found catching brown trout on an artificial may fly was so much better a few days after the initial heavy hatches. Three years ago I was on the river Dove with that delightful of all round anglers Robert Goodwin. We had come to enjoy the delights of this Derbyshire river made famous and fished by such notable anglers as Isaac Walton, Charles Cotton and Amateur Angler among others. Robert suggested I come across after lunch on June 2nd during the mayfly hatch which I happily accepted I suppose it was about 4pm the heavens opened up and we took shelter under a big oak from the heavy rain shower that lasted some twenty minutes. As the rain ceased, the mercury started to rise and the weather become muggy. Then all of a sudden, the air was full of mayflies. It seemed as if there were thousands upon thousands of Ephemera danica. Dancing the dance of death rising up and down like yo yo’s on invisible strings. During the next hour or so, many thousands of mayfly’s eggs were lost as they were deposited on the wet tarmac road, footpaths and fields. It seemed as if every bird for miles around had converged on the area to feast on the dead and dying bodies. I remember that day watching enthralled as a dipper seemed to grab what seemed like a dozen mayflies then flew a few yards to feed a youngster that was perched on a rock in mid river. This happened several times and that young dipper must have been the best fed bird on the river. Swifts, swallows, martins and moor hens were also feasting on what is probably the most exquisite and beautiful fly that had slowly crawled from the river where it had spent the past two or three years from egg through to nymph. When one thinks of mayflies our thoughts turn to brown trout, but this fly is also a very important creature in the aquatic world. In the nymphal stage they are probably the food of all the aquatic fish at some stage in the fishes life. Halford in his book Dry-Fly Fishing in Theory and Practice writes, “As the sun gets low in the horizon and the air begins to cool the males come out in clouds, congregating together; and, dancing up and down, lie in wait for, and catch each female as she flies out into the open in the imago state. Sexual intercourse takes place in the air, and very shortly after it the female drops her eggs on the water, and the act of reproduction being complete, both sexes fall almost lifeless on the surface of the stream with their wings extended and lying flat and their bodies mere empty shells are at this stage by a strange misnomer, called by angler the spent gnat”. On some of the southern chalk streams and lakes the mayfly hatch will commence during the middle of May. On the northern rivers it’s often early June, in fact on the Derbyshire Dove, June 1st will usually see the first of the mayfly. Pat O’Reilly in his book Matching the Hatch (I recommend this book to all fly fishers) writes on page 88 “The main hatch usually begins somewhere between mid-May and the first week of June, but there are regional variations. A cold winter can delay the mayfly season by two or three weeks. Back in the 1980’s on the 29th of April I remember fishing a Cotswold gravel pit and seeing a hatch of mayflies which lasted two days. What was so interesting about these trout was the way they were so switched on to these flies that they refused any other offering, it had to look like the real thing or was ignored. Thankfully my friend Brain Wadhams had a few mayflies in his box the trout wanted to eat, and we had some great evening fishing. Fishing the big West of Ireland lochs in the 1950’s the mayfly hatch usually started around the 17th of May, if I remember correctly. In those days we used live mayflies in conjunction with a hook that had a clip fixed to the shank. I think it was called the Aybro hook. I also used them for fishing Daddy-long-legs, grasshopper, blue bottles and other insects when dapping for chub, rudd and dace. Its a pity these hooks are not available today for dapping. On the river Teme last year, over a period of three days from June 19 until 21st, I witnessed a big mayfly hatch, which happened between 12 noon and 2-0pm. I didn’t see any trout moving but Tony Farquharson and I witnessed a lot of barbel twisting and turning in the water. It was then I realised these fish were chasing the nymphs of the mayflies. I caught three barbel that day by fishing a Walkers mayfly nymph, probably the first time barbel have been taken in England by design. The next day I had a catch of 20 perch fishing these nymphs sink and draw. Let’s take a look at the tackle for river fishing as it’s usually different from what you would use on most stillwaters. My advice is to choose a rod of about eight and a half feet with a 4 weight line rating. Should you only need to cast a short distance then up-rate the line from 4 to a 5 weight, which will help greatly with your casting. On the subject of lines you will read conflicting advice. Some writers will say it has to be a double taper floating line, whilst others will say use a weight forward floating line, both views are right. Where the conflict comes in is when anglers tell you it must be a double taper, as it casts better and the fly lands more delicately. I will say now that this is rubbish. It’s all down to how skilful the angler is who is using the tackle. How many days a year do some of these experts fish? I often ask myself. In the days of the early plastic lines it was probably true, but not today. I and my friends use weight forward floating lines and we catch our share of fish. My choice of leader material as we go into the next Millennium is fluorocarbon greased up to make it float, except the last foot of leader next to the fly. I use the Masterline tapered leaders, not only for trout but for all types of fly fishing, including saltwater, and cannot fault them.

Just remember tackle for mayfly fishing on the rivers is no different from what you normally use for fishing the dry fly, except the fly pattern. If your stillwater rod is rated for a 5/6 with a floating line to match, then it can still fish the mayfly. The only difference is the fly itself. There is one exception, that is dapping on the big stillwaters and lochs, which to my mind is the most exciting way of taking fish. I remember being out on Rutland Water with John Ketley at the time John was the umpire for one of the big matches. As the competitors fished, John and I grabbed a couple of hours. With a good wave on the water John decided to dap. As I watched the dapped fly, a fish of some three pounds came three or four inches out of the water, with water droplets falling from its body and ate John’s fly, then dived for the depths. It’s that moment when the fish takes the fly By sipping it from the surface, swirling savagely then grabbing hold, or lifting a few inches out of the water to grab it that makes the adrenaline course through the body. One never gets enough of this action. Many anglers these days choose a telescopic rod from 15 to 18 feet, using what is known as a blow line. I have made a blow line with several strands of 4lb nylon line which has worked quite well. Back in the 50’s one could buy a special dapping line known as floss silk, it may be still available for all I know. If you’re tired of catching stocky rainbows ask around among other anglers and find out what waters have a mayfly hatch and the date they are expected. Then go out and fish the mayfly on the river stream or gravel pit. It’s terribly exciting.