Mayfly Force be with you

4 May 2022 | Sarah

Ask any who waft a fly rod which month they’d like to be on the water and odds on it will be May.

Granted, April sees the dawn of a new season proper and those keen to wet a line will be champing at the bit.

June can be a productive month too though with lengthening days, trout often wait until the last rays of daylight to feed.

And whist the sport might be electrifying, it’s often short lived when we can’t really call it “a day’s sport”.

The merry month of May however has it all.

With a climbing sun, gone are the harsh weeks of April and instead the days are filled with a gentle air of promise when birds sing their hearts out.

Furthermore, longer days mean those stuck in doors all day can still grab a couple of hours in the evening without the threat of dropping temperatures or having to wait until some unearthly hour for fish to rise, causing you to burn the candle at both ends.

Bear in mind too, some of our most iconic insects begin to emerge, with the celebrated Mayfly leading the bunch.

Found on both running and still water the Mayfly causes a stir for both anglers and trout alike. Their sheer size and elegance is what does it.

When mayfly begin to emerge the dry fly fishing is nothing short of spectacular.

What’s best is that we get two bites of the cherry here when female spinners return to egg lay.

Now the trout can go positively wild mopping up spent spinners as the light fades.

There’ll be terrestrials too on the menu, namely hawthorn flies and black gnats, which again provide us with top drawer dry fly fishing.

If you’re visiting a Stillwater, given light winds opt to explore the lee shore (protected bank) as it’s here these juicy titbits will land first.

Faced with more breezy weather then head for the downwind (exposed) shore as it’s here that swamped flies will gather.

As for flies, a small black hopper takes some beating and where lopping waves drown this, a steady figure-of-eight will entice trout.

TOP TIP!

As trout are in the prime conditions during May it’s important to ensure your terminal tackle is in perfect conditions.

This means checking your knots are snugged down correctly as hard fighting trout will find any weakness in your armoury.

This is best done using a little moisture when closing up the knot and being diligent by tightening knots pulling on both the main leader and tag end.