A Taster for Mayflies?

I saw my first Mayfly over the weekend, but it wasn't on the river - it was in the car park at Barbless Flies HQ!

It's fairly common to see the odd lone Mayfly braving the easterly winds we usually have here, but nothing which will stir too much interest from the fish - I'm hoping the nice weather which is forecast for the coming weekend will really spur them on - but up here in North Yorkshire, we don't generally get to cast a Mayfly imitation in anger until the last week of May.

However, things seem to be happening a little earlier this year - so, you never know!

I always get really excited when I see a big yellow DHL van pull up outside the office, as this can only mean one thing ... 

As of last Thursday, we've now received all of our NEW Artisan Mayfly patterns I thought it was a good idea to give you the chance to try a "taster selection" of our stunning new Individual Mayflies, so you can see which ones work best on your local waters.

Think of them as an 'amuse-bouche' of the fly fishing world, giving you a few of our wide range of mayflies, and allowing you to see which ones work best on your waters.

It will not be long now until the trout start to realise exactly what they are missing out on and start to 'look up' in earnest.

We are starting the 2025 Mayfly season with a taster selection of our Artisan Mayflies.

In total there are 6 patterns (covering each of the Mayfly lifecycle - from nymph to spent), supplied in our eco-friendly packaging, for only £14.00 (which includes FREE delivery to anywhere in the UK) - that's a 17.6% discount on buying them individually, just click on any image or button below for a closer look.

Towards the end of this email, we also have a very special set of Mayflies - we're calling it our Luxury Artisan Mayfly Selection which is stuffed full of our Artisan Mayflies and supplied in one of Jeff Jones' Oak fly boxes - hand-made in Wales.

The quality of these mayflies has to be seen to be believed, they are all tied on AHREX hooks - the best in the business - we're sure you cannot find better quality anywhere else!

We are supplying this Taster Selection of Mayflies as a selection of 6 flies, each one a different stage of the Mayflies lifecycle.

We usually run out of Mayflies, but this year will be different, we are determined to have them available to you for the full Mayfly season - they are all in stock and our shelves are groaning under their weight, we literally have tens of thousands of them - so fill your boots!

Why not grab a Taster Selection today, see which ones work on your water, then top-up your box throughout the season - at only £14.00 for the Full Artisan Mayfly Taster Selection, they are a bargain!

Get them while you can, as we did run out last year!

So, What's Included In The Taster Selection?

One each of These Bad Boys:

Mayfly Nymph

A Mayfly nymph imitation in White/Cream & Brown (the natural colours) and weighted with a bead to help this large fly sink. These nymphs are tied on Size 10 AHREX FW531 barbless hooks and correspond to the actual size of a Mayfly nymph.

 

Mayfly Emerger

A Mayfly emerger imitation in White/Cream & Brown (the natural colours) with a little foam tied in at the head to allow the fly to sit correctly on the water. These emergers are tied on Size 10 AHREX FW531 barbless hooks and correspond to the actual size of a Mayfly.!

 

Loop-Wing Emerger

A Mayfly emerger imitation in White/Cream & Brown (the natural colours) with a little CdC loop tied in at the head, to allow the fly to sit correctly on the water. These emergers are tied on Size 10 AHREX FW503 barbless hooks and correspond to the actual size of a Mayfly.

 

Mayfly Dun

A Mayfly Dun imitation in White/Cream & Brown (the natural colours) with a grey poly-yarn sighter post. These Dun imitations are tied on Size 14 AHREX FW525 barbless hooks and correspond to the actual size of a Mayfly.

 

Mohican Mayfly

A detached body mayfly imitation, super buoyant and tied to exacting standards. This fly has very short wings, this helps reduce leader-twist when casting. These Mohican Mayfly imitations are tied on Size 12 AHREX FW525 barbless hooks and correspond to the actual size of a Mayfly.

 

Spent Mayfly

A Spent Mayfly imitation in White/Cream & Brown (the natural colours) tied with outstretched poly-yarn to imitate the dying mayfly - there are the go-to flies when fishing on an evening. These Spent Mayfly imitations are tied on Size 14 AHREX FW525 barbless hooks and correspond to the actual size of a Mayfly.

 

We are supplying this Taster Selection of Mayflies as a selection of 6 flies (imitating each of the Mayfly lifecycle stages). We have already stocked up on these Mayflies and they're available now, at only £14.00 for the Mayfly Taster Selection - which includes FREE delivery to anywhere in the UK.

Go on, you know you want to!

Fancy A Little Luxury?

Why not treat yourself, or a good fishing friend, to a Luxury Artisan Mayfly Selection. A really nice hand-made (by Jeff, in Wales) Oak fly box, stuffed full of Mayflies:

Our Luxury Artisan Mayfly Selection is a selection of flies to imitate the full lifecycle of the Mayfly (nymph, emerger, crippled, dun & spent). We are supplying this full selection, giving you three each of our wide range of Artisan mayflies, allowing you to see which works best on your waters. In total, there are 18 Mayflies supplied in one of Jeff Jones' Hand-Made (in Wales) Oak Fly Boxes.

All of these flies are tied using strong AHREX (FW503, FW525 & FW531) barbless hooks, in the appropriate size for the insect stage (sizes 10 & 14) using the best quality materials available on the market.

We are supplying this Luxury Selection of Artisan Mayflies as a selection of 18 flies (three of each of the Mayfly lifecycle stages). We have already stocked up on these Mayflies and they're available now, at only £75.00 for the Luxury Selection - which includes FREE delivery.

TOP TIP: Reducing Leader Twist - when fishing with flies which have large wings - like Mayflies, this will induce twist in your leader (there's nothing you can really do to stop it). The majority of Mayfly patterns (especially the spent ones) have wings which act just like helicopter rotor blades and spin when you cast them. The best way to combat this is to:

• Reduce the length of your leader
• Increase the diameter of your leader

Try shortening the overall length of your tapered leader to around 6ft and step up your tippet diameter - use 3X or 4X. Once the fish really switch on to the Mayfly they become indifferent to your tippet, so step it up where you can.

Generally, once the fish are confidently taking mayflies they will not be shy of leaders, try dropping your leader length right down and using a thicker diameter.

Try removing your tapered leader altogether and just using 4ft to 6ft of 5X tippet direct to your fly line with some of the larger flies - like the Mohican Mayfly.

 

Have fun out there - it's about to get really good!

P.S. If you would like to buy any Mayflies individually - from only £1.75 each - you can find them all by clicking the button below: