May Flies: Irish Lake and River Flies

Who could argue that during the months of May and June the arrival of the large treats on the water gives every angler a rush of excitement and anticipation. The May Fly hatches on Irish waters is World wide famous for producing some of the best wild trout fishing that can be had across the globe. 

There are thousands of dressings that imitate these flies and every angler is constantly searching and designing fly's that lure the trout from the naturals to their imitations. Nymphs, Wets and dries can all give a fly fisher the chance at catching that dream trout during this time of the year, over the next few weeks ill be showing you some of my favorite fly's that I have found to be productive over the years on the lakes and rivers of Ireland. 

Here is two good dries that have proven their place in my may fly box, they can both catch fish on lakes and rivers tied in different sizes.
The Picric Wolf 

Hook: Size 8-10 B175 Kamasan 
Thread: Olive twist thread 
Tail: Picric Rabbit Belly fibers 
Rib: Hends Dark Olive Floss 
Body: Olive Body quill by Hends  
Wings:  Picric Rabbit Belly fibers
Shoulder Hackle: Picric cock hackles


Spent Mayfly 
Hook: Size 10- 8B175 Kamasan 
Thread: Black twist thread 

Tail: Black cock pheasant tail.
Body: White floss, Latex or silk. 
Rib: Grey Hends Body floss.
Hackle: Grizzle Cock.  
Wings: 2 CDC large feather trimmed to form wings. 

The hackle under the wings is clipped so the fly sits down on the water. 
These two fly's had caught me so many fish on lakes and on rivers over the years and are worth a place in your box especially the Wolf.

Sometimes it can be harder to tie large fly's and get the proportions correct, but take your time and focus on one section of the fly at a time and you will tie cracking Mays that will catch fish. Keep an eye on this blog for some good wets and more dries over the coming weeks. 
I hope you enjoy tying these patterns and enjoy fishing them even more then I have had. If you would like any of these flies or any other patterns of you choice you can find my contact details on the right side of the blog. Thank you for reading and tight lines.