There are a few insects that are synonymous with summer dry fly fishing in the west. If we narrow it down to the insect order of Ephemeroptera, which envelops our beloved mayflies, there is one that stands out. Of the western mayflies, the longest and most prolific hatch, typically, is the Pale Morning or Evening Dun (PMD or PED).
These small mayflies come off in two distinct groups, one in the morning and one in the afternoon into the evening. Within both groups, there are also multiple species, so on the water you may multiple sizes of insects that look similar. For sake of simplicity, typically, a size 16-18 will cover everything you need for this summer mayfly hatch.
One of our favorite patterns to search with during this hatch is Fulling Mill’s Tactical Light Cahill Parachute. The shade of Fulling Mill’s Tactical Dry Fly Dub perfectly matches the shade of our local PMDs. The post is made of Fulling Mill’s Ultra Dry Yarn which is a fantastic synthetic yarn. We like it for wings on terrestrials and larger stones too, but it makes an ultra visible post that sheds water quickly. We love that the fly is tied sparsely which helps it shed water quickly, but more importantly, overdressed flies do not fool large fish as well.
This fly works great during an active emergence, or even mid day searching for opportunistic fish willing to rise for the stray PMD. When casting at further distances, we like to tag this 16-20 inches behind a larger stone. The Burkus Bearback Gold Stone is a great option from Fulling Mill that helps you keep track of the Tactical Light Cahill Parachute. This is an especially effective rig in faster water where trout are often holding in the summer, or in low light to help you track your small dry.
Stay tuned for an additional article doing a deeper dive into the nuanced specifics of the PMD/PED hatch. We also are in the works of doing another fly spotlight on one of our favorite Gold Stones from Fulling Mill: The Burkus Bearback Gold Stone.
-Simon
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