please help, need fly identified

[no]

I went to a local fly shop curious what to use to tie a size 16 mayfly
with orange body and green wings. The guy said as far as he knew
mayflies didnt have green wings. He also said the wings dont matter,
that only the body matters af far as the fish are concerned.

Obviously the fish cant see the top of a dry fly wing, but wouldnt they
be concerned with the under part? The flyshop guy said that the wing is
only for looks and floatation.

Wouldnt also the size of the wing be important? Wouldnt the fish be
concerned with this? Wouldnt the fish be concerned with the underside
color of the wing since it is visibile? It seems they would be
interested in the size and color of the body, the size and form of the
wing, and the color of the underside of the wing.
1) what should I use to tie the wing? (size 16 mayfly with green (blends
with green grass)
2) what about what the fly shop guy that said wings arent green?
3) any ideas which mayfly this was just by the color and size given?
4) what patterns would be similiar?

[George Cleveland]

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 17:28:34 GMT, no > wrote:

>I went to a local fly shop curious what to use to tie a size 16 mayfly
>with orange body and green wings. The guy said as far as he knew
>mayflies didnt have green wings. He also said the wings dont matter,
>that only the body matters af far as the fish are concerned.
>
>Obviously the fish cant see the top of a dry fly wing, but wouldnt they
>be concerned with the under part? The flyshop guy said that the wing is
>only for looks and floatation.
>
>Wouldnt also the size of the wing be important? Wouldnt the fish be
>concerned with this? Wouldnt the fish be concerned with the underside
>color of the wing since it is visibile? It seems they would be
>interested in the size and color of the body, the size and form of the
>wing, and the color of the underside of the wing.
>1) what should I use to tie the wing? (size 16 mayfly with green (blends
>with green grass)
>2) what about what the fly shop guy that said wings arent green?
>3) any ideas which mayfly this was just by the color and size given?
>4) what patterns would be similiar?
I can only speak for Wisconsin but there a over 200 species of mayfly with only
about 2 dozen common enough to be useful to fishermen. That leaves a wide
variety of bugs which you may see, but maybe unknown to most.

g.c.

[Skwala]

"no" > wrote in message
...


> Obviously the fish cant see the top of a dry fly wing, but wouldnt they
> be concerned with the under part? The flyshop guy said that the wing is
> only for looks and floatation.

This sort of contradicts all those wonderful line drawings Doug Swisher and
some other guy published back in the '80s and '90s, showing what the trout
sees in its "window"

> 1) what should I use to tie the wing? (size 16 mayfly with green (blends
> with green grass)

Personally I like poly pro parachutes (wing is polypro yarn), Sometimes I
use Flu. Green Polypro for visability (mine, not the fish).

> 2) what about what the fly shop guy that said wings arent green?

If you look closely, many mayflies have colored wings, some the whole wing,
some just the leading edge. I've seen olive, tan and brown, I haven't seen
any bright green wings, tho.

I doubt if the fish are concerned with this, however.

> 3) any ideas which mayfly this was just by the color and size given?

#16 Orangish body ? how about something from the Ephermerella or Heptegenia
line ? PMD's or PED's ? (early '90s taxonomy, wouldn;t know or care too much
what they may be called today)

> 4) what patterns would be similiar?
There must be several million may fly patterns by now.

[Gene Cottrell]

I haven't tied a wing on a hackled mayfly imitation in over 20 years and
can't be convinced that it makes a difference. I only tie a few colors of
flies in a few sizes and have found that when everyone else is catching
fish, so am I and when they're not, neither am I. KISS is my motto. A few
mayflies, caddis, and midges in a couple of sizes and light and dark colors
will cover most situations. This will be argued by the "match the hatch"
guys, but I've never had one prove me wrong. I will also fish emergers,
nymphs and streamers when called for, but stay with dries if I think there's
a chance (just my preference).

Gene


"no" > wrote in message
...
> I went to a local fly shop curious what to use to tie a size 16 mayfly
> with orange body and green wings. The guy said as far as he knew
> mayflies didnt have green wings. He also said the wings dont matter,
> that only the body matters af far as the fish are concerned.
>
> Obviously the fish cant see the top of a dry fly wing, but wouldnt they
> be concerned with the under part? The flyshop guy said that the wing is
> only for looks and floatation.
>
> Wouldnt also the size of the wing be important? Wouldnt the fish be
> concerned with this? Wouldnt the fish be concerned with the underside
> color of the wing since it is visibile? It seems they would be
> interested in the size and color of the body, the size and form of the
> wing, and the color of the underside of the wing.
> 1) what should I use to tie the wing? (size 16 mayfly with green (blends
> with green grass)
> 2) what about what the fly shop guy that said wings arent green?
> 3) any ideas which mayfly this was just by the color and size given?
> 4) what patterns would be similiar?