I was down on the Teise today and was packing up about 4:30 ........ and there was a mayfly hatch off one of the little carriers.

I couldn't believe my eyes I thought it was to early for this type of activity!

__________________
Carl

http://www.wandlepiscators.net/
http://teiseangling.co.uk/index.htm

TOMORROW THE TRENT COULD BE YOUR FISHERY! When are YOU going to JOIN THE ANGLING TRUST?

What Magic Mushrooms?

Hi' Carlos. I have to ask the question, and please don't think I'm being smart -- were the flies Mayflies, Ephemera danica, the real thing? Or were they the more seasonal, Large Dark Olives? The modern trend is to blanket all of the upwings
( a far better name by a long chalk ) under the name 'Mayfly'. If they were the big lads and lasses, you have been very privileged. I am pretty sure I saw an out of season Large Brook Dun on the Eden last week, while out with mrtrout and Adz. That was two months early IMO. Cheers, TerryC

I agree with Terry, they surely must be Large Dark Olives. I wouldn't be totally astonished to see a single mayfly out of season as I've seen the odd straggler in April and October but never seen a proper hatch outside May to July.

OK. I am not an expert so there is a strong possibility I was wrong. However, arched back, two long prongs off it's rear and wings. No where near as big as the Mayflies I have seen, but I thought at this early point in the year they would be small ........ so excited got back home from the river and posted it on the forum.

Just done the google thing .............. large dark olive.

I'll get my coat .......... and an insect guide.

__________________
Carl

http://www.wandlepiscators.net/
http://teiseangling.co.uk/index.htm

TOMORROW THE TRENT COULD BE YOUR FISHERY! When are YOU going to JOIN THE ANGLING TRUST?

Any fish taking them Carl?

Some rivers only get a very short hatch of these around lunchtime,typically

the welsh Usk early in the season.Down here in cornwall,one river gets them

hatching from 12ish to 4-5pm some days,not bad if I catch it right

Stuart Crofts showed me a photo of a pukka (E. danica) mayfly that he saw hatching in January (I think 2008 rather than 2009). But these things do happen.

Brook Duns (which are sizeable beasts) and true March Browns (where they occur) should be along very soon if they are not trickling off already. Both of these are considerably bigger upwings than the Large Dark Olive.

Hi' Paul. Even Olive Upright, which we sometimes see in April in the Eden valley, is bigger than Large Dark Olive. The name is, I feel, a bit misleading at times, as I have seen a summer generation of LDO spinners that were smaller than the Medium Olive; but we have to use approximations. Cheers, keep up the good work, TerryC

I agree Terry - a misnomer in my opinion! They're not even all that dark round these parts are they?!

M

__________________
The sun pushed dark spokes of melt and sparkle
Across the fields of hoar. And the river steamed -
Flint-olive.


http://northcountryangler.blogspot.com

Hi', Matt. You are right.
I don't want to start an argument, as I'm going for my evening meal; but light or dark, none of the LDOs that I have seen, and photographed at extremely
close quarters, was like a Kite's Imperial in colour of body, tails or wings. I'm not saying that it isn't a good fly; but I would suggest that it succeeds despite not looking like the natural. Having written that, I have to say that quite a lot of artificial dry flies do not look like the naturals which they are tied to copy, but in a flow, if the profile and silhouette are good, they catch fish.
Now, before I get a blasting; let me say that presentation and method of fishing are what catch a trout. I've said it before, but it bears repeating, the 'wrong' fly fished in the right way, catches more fish than the 'right' fly fished in the wrong way. The bulk of artificials are caricatures; some are close copies, and the latter are given most thought by their manufacturers. Cheers. TC