A busy day today with lessons on both the river and the Stillwater. Shaun, the owner of Chirk fishery told me that Mayfly had started hatching in good numbers so I stuck around after my afternoon casting lesson to see for myself.

 

Mayflies are big, highly visible and protein packed. They make a great meal for a hungry trout as they can be 20-30 times larger than the insects that trout normally feed on. This means that Mayfly time (usually the weeks at the end of may and the beginning of June) is eagerly awaited by both trout and fly fishermen alike. The trout become less cautious in pursuit of these big flies and so they can be easier to catch. In fact, many anglers refer to this time as “Duffers Fortnight” as even the novice angler has a good chance of success on the dry fly.

 

Sadly though, this evenings hatch didn’t materialise so there was no real dry fly sport. That said, I knew there would be Mayfly larvae in the water as they are preparing to hatch so I fished a Mayfly nymph. This fly is only really useful at this time of the year as the actual nymph spends up to 2 years buried in the sand and silt at the bottom of the lake. They only emerge when it’s time to hatch into fully fledged Mayfly.

 

This is a fantastic time to dig out your fly rod and gave a go. The weather is great, the fish are feeding and you’ll get a warm welcome from Shaun and his staff. You might even tempt one of the big boys!