Tying and Fishing the Mayfly

The Mayfly is one of the most celebrated insects amongst fly anglers around the world and mainly because their annual hatch invariably triggers a frenzy from trout and grayling. This upwinged insect has an incredible lifecycle.....after living in the river as a nymph for a year, its life ends 24hrs later as it falls to the river to lay its eggs and start the cycle again.  This final 24hr period is crucial to trout as they intercept the Mayfly as it leaves the river bed, swims to the surface, hatches and then lands again several hours later. Fly fishing expert, Barry Beck talks us through the various stages of the Mayfly before demonstrating tying the imitations he likes to use. After each tying of the nymph, emerger, dun and spinner, Barry takes to the river and shows how he fishes these patterns and proves how well they work. To watch, login or register