This is a fly for the hottest part of summer. I can't
think of a better way to get through the coldest part of winter than
thinking about using this fly when its time comes around, six months
from now, when merely walking breaks a sweat.
Hook: 10, 2XF, 2XL (Mustad 94831)
Thread: Yellow Monocord 3/0
Body: Yellow Polypropolene
Hackle:Ginger or barred ginger saddle
Tail:Ginger saddle fibers
Wing:Ginger or barred ginger saddle tips
This is a simple fly to produce, merely hook,
thread, poly, and saddle hackle. Tie in the tail fibers, then
wrap the body, and finish off with the hackle, tying in the dual
wings and winding reverse to finish it off. The hackle needs to be
fairly full to float such a massive dry fly. Floatant formula helps
considerably. This is not a fancy fly, but it is extremely effective
at the right time of year. Tie it securely for heavy action. Don't
worry about a delicate appearance. With this one, the fish don't
care.
It's a big and wind-resistant
dry fly, so you'll need a power line to cast it effectively, at least
a seven weight forward, preferably an eight. It will not need to be
cast very far, say 50 ft. or less.
This is my primary mid-summer
fly for freshwater lakes along the Gulf Coast region. During the dog
days in the South, fishing near or on the surface can be a fool's
game for twenty three and a half hours a day. But there is a magic
half hour where this fly will turn things around in a huge way.
When the sun has set and the
light is beginning to grow dim, the hexigenia bileneata, those big
yellow mayflies that hatch throughout the mid to late summer in the
Southern states, will land on the water at the shoreline to lay their
eggs. The fish (bass, crappie, sunfish, and others) will migrate into
the oxygen poor waters of the shallows to feed on these little yellow
morsels like there is no tomorrow. For about half an hour, ending
with the point where it's too dark to see anything without a
flashlight, the fish strike in a competitive frenzy at anything on
the surface that is vaguely yellow and measuring an inch or two
long.
This is not a hatch in the
classic sense, for the bilineata do not hatch all at once as do many
mayflies, but over a period of six to eight weeks. It is during this
period that surface fishing is at its worst of the year because of
the oxygen poor water that comes from layering of the water
(thermoclining). It's a time when plastic worms and other deep
presentation lures like jigging spoons and tail spinners are king.
Any fish sunning in the shallows are generally in a stupor from the
low oxygen and are not in the least bit interested in eating, until
the sun goes down and the UV-sensitive female imago hexagenia set
about to the task of laying eggs. These tasty morsels draw all size
of fish, from the two to three inchers to the multi-pounders, to the
shoreline for half an hour of dining delight. Too much light, the
mayflies stay put under leaves and in the shade of the trees. Too
little light, and the fish must withdraw to oxygen richer depths to
let their eyes convert from day to night vision.
During this magical half hour,
this fly is capable of catching forty or more fish. If it sits on the
water for more than ten seconds at a time, it's being fished in the
wrong spot. Move to someplace more open. The fish are quite bold and
do not spook nearly as easily as in the daytime. The night predators
have not yet emerged, and the day birds are roosting for the night,
so there is little fear in the fish during the frenzy. Practice at
effectively removing the hook in failing light is the key to
outstanding numerical success. A small slotted hook remover (Swiss
Army Knife has an excellent one) will assist tremendously. Even
better is tying them barbless. It won't kill you to miss an
occasional one to a late response. Another fish will strike it.
Yellow poppers will also
work, if the profile is right. Whatever fly you use, mine or another
yellow mass of fuzz that sits on the water, use a heavy leader. You
never know when a two, three, or four pound bass is going to slurp
your offering. In the dim light and under the frenzy, a leader is
going to be largely inconsequential. Play it safe and go heavy.
Make up a bunch of these flies
at once. Once you get a taste of the feeding, you'll want to take
advantage of it every evening that you can. It's the best way I know
to properly say hello to the Dog Day's Night.