Fishing a Mayfly Spinner Fall

Mayflies are the bread and butter of fly-fishing, and understanding their life cycle can only improve your chances of catching fish. Next to the dun phase, the spinner phase may be the most important to fly fishermen. Spinner falls often lead to the best dry fly fishing on most rivers, and if you are prepared the fish can be very easy to catch.

The spinner phase is the final phase of a mayfly's life. After hatching, a mayfly will fly to nearby vegetation where it molts and becomes an adult, commonly called a spinner. After changing into a spinner the final thing a mayfly will do is take to flight to mate, lay eggs over the water and then die. Mayflies congregate in swarms during their final flights and then drop to the water a short time after. This is the spinner fall.

Mayfly spinners drop to the water by the thousands during spinner falls and make an easy meal for trout. Trout often position themselves at calmer sections of the river and gently sip the spinners from the surface. Since the mayflies are dead, the trout don't need to waste much energy to feed on them and this often brings the biggest trout in the river to the surface, but you need to be ready to catch them.

For fly fishermen, being prepared for a spinner fall is the most important thing. Carry a wide variety of rusty spinners in different sizes as well as some lighter colored patterns. Most mayflies will turn a dark reddish color as spinners, but with everything in fly-fishing there are some variations. Most of the variations tend to be either white or yellow in color. The next key in preparing for a spinner fall is identifying one. When the mayflies swarm to the river to mate you will often have to look up towards the sky to see them. Most will perform "a dance," where they fly up and down above fast water sections of the river. When you notice mayflies performing this behavior it is a sure sign they are close to the end. This is the time to position yourself near a favorable section for rising fish.

Finally, as with everything in fly-fishing, remember to keep an eye on the waters surface. Dead spinners often ride flat on the water's surface so seeing them from a distance can be very difficult. So keep an eye on the water's surface close to you to try and spot spinners. Many times you may notice the spinners on the water without seeing them in the air because they have fallen some distance upstream.

Mayfly spinners are one of the many spectacular events on a trout stream or river. For fly fishermen hitting a spinner fall can be hard to beat. Remember always be prepared and observant and your odds of success during a spinner fall will increase.