After the Mayfly – modern tactics for the “educated trout”.
The time of the Mayfly hatch on the chalkstreams has long been one of the highlights of our fishing calendar. Normally through May and early June this wonderful insect that even us uneducated entomologists can identify have fishermen headed to the banks for their nearest river to participate in “duffer’s fortnight”. For some it is the period after June weedcut and Mayfly is done that we look forward to most. Once again the river seems to find peace after the frantic activity of both fishermen and their quarry. I think of Mayfly as being the trout equivalent to a large juicy steak. By this stage in the year most trout have had enough steak and are really thinking of a nice salad. This can make them difficult to tempt into playing our game, but it is this challenge of catching the “educated trout” that I find most rewarding.
The name of the game is to ring the changes, you need to think of this as a game of chess between fisherman and quarry. It often amazes me the number of my brethren I meet along the bank that continue to flail away with a mayfly pattern or the same fly all day instead of giving the trout a change in appetisers. It is also very important not to get lazy, make sure that you are fishing with the longest leaders you can manage, drop down the breaking strain from the 6 lbs leaders you bought for the Mayfly to 3 lbs tippets and ensure it has all been ruthlessly degreased with fullers earth or some equivalent. These fish by this stage have seen a lot of flies and if they have not spooked can probably tell you if that pattern was bought at Robjents, Farlows or Sportfish!
The first tactic I always employ is observation. The days of blundering up to the waterside and thrashing a big fly around while the trout continue to obliviously feed are gone. If you come to a stretch of water and see a rise halfway up it don’t rush up the bank to cast at this fish immediately. If you wait a few moments, you may well find a fish rising under your feet which you would have spooked in your eagerness. Stealth is key, so if you spot a trout holding station or sipping off the surface sneak up a reasonable distance away and take a pew. Just sit and watch for a while, take in the fish’s attitude. I firmly believe that all fish have attitude, and it is defining this that can make us more successful. Watch the way it is behaving as this will dictate which tactics to employ to fool him. For example a fish sipping off the surface is most likely to be midging, whereas that telltale bulge just under the surface will indicate an emerging nymph. I have often found that fish sated on Mayfly become increasingly lazy and won’t move off station much.
The second tactic I normally employ is to “go small”. This is actually a general rule with all my fishing when fish are hard to catch or have seen a lot of anglers whether it be trout, bonefish or tarpon. I have found small size 18 – 22 CDC olives, F-flies or even the much loved Griffiths Gnat to be highly effective. For some reason trout can often find a midge totally impossible to refuse and there really is nothing more satisfying than catching a wily trout on a fly I need a magnifying glass to tie on the end of my leader! When I recommend this on the bank I am often given a barrage of abuse and being told they cannot see the fly or where it lands. I don’t possess the eyesight of a falcon either, but by casting at a range I feel comfortable with I can judge roughly where I think the fly is. If you see a rise form in the vicinity of where you think the fly is… strike! More often than not you will be pleasantly surprised to see the “brown wink in the water” and solid connection of fish to rod. A word of warning though, small hooks bend easily, so the battle must be conducted carefully or it will be all over sooner than planned.
The third tactic in my arsenal is, for python fans among you, “now for something completely different.” These fish have seen a plethora of massive flies passing over their heads, and as I mentioned before are sated on steak. Luckily for us trout are inherently greedy by nature, so a different kind of large fly can often prove the downfall of many an uncatchable trout. My go to fly for this tends to be a hairy Daddy Long legs or a foam beetle. Terrestrials are always a welcome change to any trout diet, and crane flies and beetles can appear at any time. They offer a large mouthful which can be too tempting to turn down. If your first few offerings are refused on your next cast dump the fly unceremoniously on top of its head. Not only will this make you feel better and your aggravation sated, but it will often instil the fish to revert to instinct and take the fly aggressively. A trout can’t resist something it can eat escaping. It is a little like a dry fly version of Sawyer’s induced take.
Tactic number four is the “stripped fly”. In a similar vein cast the fly above and to one side of the fish, and as soon as the fly alights begin some stripping motions with the hand or even just raise the rod to make the fly wake over the fish. This will often induce the same primeval instinct for a fish to eat and can produce some stunning takes. On some of the lower stretches of the Test and Avon this has proved deadly in the past, and I have seen fish bow wave across the river to intercept them.
Tactic number five is another rather unorthodox technique I have employed in the past which I call “Using the trees”. A rising trout is looking upwards to feed, and those that live close under the banks (normally the larger and clever fish) eat quite a number of flies that fall directly off the undergrowth on the bank. If you are struggling to present your fly without drag to such a spot cast very lightly directly into the bushes or rushes above the fish. Then very gently pull the fly off. Granted, this is risky as you can get hooked up, but you will be amazed how often the fly just drops off onto the head of the waiting fish that snaffles it instantaneously.
The last tactic that I use where allowed is ….. a nymph. I know I am potentially sticking my neck out here for a full-on Skues Vs Halfordian debate (I often wondered if they had a celebrity death match type fight who would win?), but be that as it may, depending on which school you have a foot in it is an extremely effective tool. I admit that I am firmly in the camp of Mr Skues and take huge pleasure from upstream nymphing. I love watching the fly come down to the fish and waiting for that twitch to the side or flair of white mouth and gills indicating it has been snaffled before everything tightens up.
I know that some of these suggestions are a little off the wall, but all of them have proved highly successful for me in fooling those fish that don’t play cricket. Granted this is coming from the man that learnt accuracy with a fly rod by casting a piece of wool at a cat, but I hope that you may utilise some of these little snippets to help you enjoy the challenge of the educated trout as much as I. Lastly, I would add that you should not be afraid to try some of these tactics during Mayfly time as well, you may be pleasantly surprised.
