Morning,
This is one of my favourite emails to send, those of you who have been in our community for a while may have seen a version of it before - but it's a good one!
Please keep reading as these are all brand-new patterns & materials for 2026.
Please Note: This email also contains a link to some great information to help you succeed when fishing with Hawthorn imitations - I've made this info freely available on our Learning Centre.
With the weather looking to be fairly settled later this week and into next, we should start to see some more prolonged hatches on the water, the one to look for later next week (the 25th) is the Hawthorn Fly - you know they are on their way when you see Hawthorn bushes in full bloom (see above photo).
The Hawthorn Fly (or Bibio marci) is the first of the terrestrial flies the trout look up for, it's a small (no larger than 1cm) black fly, noticeable by its long gangling legs.
Hatches of Hawthorn flies usually start in late April - some say it's always on St. Mark's Day, the 25th of April - the Hawthorn fly is also commonly known as the St. Mark's Fly. The 25th of April is a double celebration in the Barbless Flies household, as well as being St Mark's Day, it's also our wedding anniversary - so no reason to forget it!
St Mark the Evangelist, copyright 2013 by Corbert Gauthier
St Mark is the patron saint of Venice and there is a lovely tradition (in Venice) which also falls on the 25th of April called The Rosebud Festival - which you may be able to use to help you get a little more time on the water this season!
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The Rosebud Festival (also known as Festa del Bocolo) is celebrated in Venice on the 25th of April where every man gives a rosebud to the woman he loves, this stems (pardon the pun) from a love story dating back to the mid-1800s:
Maria, daughter of the Doge of Venice (an elected civic and sometimes military leader), fell in love with a young man of very humble origins.
The Doge did not approve of his daughter's relationship, so the girl suggested to the young man that he enlist in the war against the Turks and earn her father’s respect.
The young man fought bravely and gained great notoriety, but he was mortally wounded and died in a rose garden.
Before he died he entrusted his friend with a rosebud stained with his blood so that he could hand it over to Maria as a last token of his love.
On April 25, Maria was found dead in her bed - the rosebud lying on her chest. Since then, every Venetian man pays homage to the one he loves with a rosebud.
Q. "How does this help me with more time on the water?"
A. "Think of your other half this weekend, give them a gift on St. Mark's Day. It just might earn you a few brownie points for when the fishing really starts. That's exactly what I will be doing - so long as my wife doesn't read this!"
Special Offer For Today Only on Our NEW Hawthorns:
Our NEW Hawthorn Selection is available from our website for only £24 - the regular price for this selection will be £28 from tomorrow - delivered, free of charge, in our eco-friendly packaging to anywhere in the UK (there is a small charge for deliveries outside of the UK).
Go on, you know you want to!
The Hawthorn fly (Bibio Marci) is one of the first flies of the season known as 'Terrestrials', these are flies which do not originate from the river, but do end up on it as food for Trout.
The Hawthorn Fly is sometimes known around the country as The St. Mark’s Fly, because they emerge around St Mark’s Day (25th April) every year. This fly belongs to the Family Bibionidae and there are around 20 different species found throughout the UK.
If you do manage to get out and about (on or around the 25th), you will need a few Hawthorn flies (or similar) in your box - especially useful in both Rivers and Stillwaters, as these flies are always blown onto the water and we have a bit of a deal for you - for today only (see below for details).
The Hawthorn fly can also be used as a suggestive pattern for a number of different insects, it can imitate a Heather Fly, Daddy Long Legs/Crane Fly and even an adult buzzer. Once the hawthorn hatch starts near your local water, make sure you have these in your fly box these are also great flies to try when searching rivers, small sillwaters & reservoirs.
The legs on these flies seem to act as a trigger to the fish. These flies are tied on size 12 and 14 barbless hooks with bushy hackles, this allows them to create a wake on the surface when retrieved on stillwaters, again another trigger point the fish home into.
These flies are also surprisingly effective when fished as a wet fly, so don't be too quick to keep these flies dry, once wet and submerged, if on a stillwater, gently "figure of 8" them back (on a river try fishing them as you would a spider), and hold on!
Our NEW Hawthorn Selection contains:
- Split-Wing Hawthorn Fly - 2 each of sizes 12 and 14
- Hawthorn Sparkle- 2 each of sizes 12 and 14
- Hawthorn CdC - 2 each of sizes 12 and 14; and
- Hawthorn Suspender - 2 each of sizes 12 and 14
Top Tip: Fish these flies in the surface film, do not apply any floatant on them.
Our new selection of Hawthorns contains 16 Hawthorn imitations - all the flies in various patterns and sizes - all you need for a great day on the water this April (and early May).
The Hawthorn Selection is a selection of 4 of the most popular Hawthorn patterns used in both rivers and stillwaters today - in total there are 16 flies in this selection.
Tight lines & have fun.
P.S. If you come to buy the Hawthorn Selection and find they are all sold out, there may be some individual flies available.
