Why does the appearance of these Mayflies causes anglers to lose all control? The main reason is that they also cause the fish to lose control. They will literally leap out of the water to try to catch these huge mouthfuls. So, as our annual pilgrimage to the Derbyshire River Wye approached, we were excited by the near perfect conditions and the reports of monster hatches of Mayfly and resultant zombie fish.

 

So Why the Wye? Whilst the adult Mayfly only survives for around 24hrs, its larval stage lasts for 2 years. Most of that time is spent buried in the sand and silt of the riverbed to avoid predators. The sections of the river Dee’s that I normally fish have a riverbed of mostly rock and gravel so whilst the odd Mayfly has been spotted on the Dee, I’ve never seen them in any great numbers. The river Wye on the other hand has the both the perfect environment AND lots of hungry Wild Rainbow Trout to compete with the Brownies.

 

Last years trip to the Wye fell perfectly. Everything I’d read and heard was confirmed. At times, it was almost a fish every cast. The previous 3 years we had been too early, too late or scuppered by the weather. This year It was to be latter that would foil us again in spectacular fashion. A storm whipped up on our way there that was so violent, three of us were employed to remove a fallen tree that was blocking our route to the hotel. The winds howled and the rain rose the river to a brown, unfishable torrent. We consoled ourselves with visits to Bakewell’s two fly fishing shops but after a second day milling around Bakewell, the trip was abandoned.