White Fly
Fly of the Month 10.25 - White Fly
Just before dark, the heavily gilled white fly nymphs wiggle to the surface where they immediately hatch into duns. After completing the molting process, the mating begins. From this point, the males fall to the water and expire, while the females descend to the water and deposit their eggs. When egg laying is completed, the females drop to the water. Emergence, mating and egg laying happen in a two-to-three hour period.
Most of the trout’s feeding activity centers around the spinner fall. A nymph pattern is useful prior to emergence and a dun pattern works during emergence, but the spinner fall invokes a feeding frenzy. White flies molt very quickly before falling to the surface as spinners.
While the trout will seemingly take any natural they see, they will not take just any pattern presented. Even in the pitch dark, they can be unbelievably selective. Under these circumstances, the best strategy is to zero in on a single rising trout, time its rise intervals, and cast to the next anticipated take.
White Fly: The Tighty Whitey
The white fly Ephoron lukeon is a very prolific light cream-colored mayfly that hatches in huge numbers along the banks of the Susquehanna River and a few of its tributaries such as the well known Yellow Breeches. Between late-July and early-August the hatch will start on the Yellow Breeches and likely last 3-4 weeks. One of the last “hatches” of the season on Pennsylvania limestone streams. The white fly hatch provides challenging and consistent dry fly activity each evening well into darkness of night.
One fly pattern is synonymous with the hatch; the White Wulff. The pattern is time tested, floats well, most every shop carries them, and they work! What the Wulff is not is a quick and easy to tie. Instead, the Tighty Whitey is a comparable fly pattern that; sits flush on the surface, takes advantage of some newer materials and has some “Euro properties” that help it stand out as a more modern selection.
White Fly FOTM 10.25
Tying Instructions
Just before dark, the heavily gilled white fly nymphs wiggle to the surface where they immediately hatch into duns. After completing the molting process, the mating begins. From this point, the males fall to the water and expire, while the females descend to the water and deposit their eggs. When egg laying is completed, the females drop to the water. Emergence, mating and egg laying happen in a two-to-three hour period.
Most of the trout’s feeding activity centers around the spinner fall. A nymph pattern is useful prior to emergence and a dun pattern works during emergence, but the spinner fall invokes a feeding frenzy. White flies molt very quickly before falling to the surface as spinners.
While the trout will seemingly take any natural they see, they will not take just any pattern presented. Even in the pitch dark, they can be unbelievably selective. Under these circumstances, the best strategy is to zero in on a single rising trout, time its rise intervals, and cast to the next anticipated take.
White Fly: The Tighty Whitey
The white fly Ephoron lukeon is a very prolific light cream-colored mayfly that hatches in huge numbers along the banks of the Susquehanna River and a few of its tributaries such as the well known Yellow Breeches. Between late-July and early-August the hatch will start on the Yellow Breeches and likely last 3-4 weeks. One of the last “hatches” of the season on Pennsylvania limestone streams. The white fly hatch provides challenging and consistent dry fly activity each evening well into darkness of night.
One fly pattern is synonymous with the hatch; the White Wulff. The pattern is time tested, floats well, most every shop carries them, and they work! What the Wulff is not is a quick and easy to tie. Instead, the Tighty Whitey is a comparable fly pattern that; sits flush on the surface, takes advantage of some newer materials and has some “Euro properties” that help it stand out as a more modern selection.
White Fly FOTM 10.25
Tying Instructions
- Begin by placing the hook in the vise after mashing the barb if necessary.
- Using the bobbin with the Glo Brite No 11, attach the thread to the hook shank slightly past the halfway mark and begin making touching turns to the hook bend, stopping before the bend actually begins. Return the thread, toward the eye, about halfway up on the hook shank and let the bobbin hang.
- Select a Light Speckled CDL feather and hold it by the tip. While holding the tip tight with your index finger and thumb use the other hand to stroke the barbs out to a right angle from the stem by sliding your fingertips straight down the length of the stem with moderate pressure. Select six to eight barbs and pinch the now aligned tips and pull smartly from the stem. This will keep the tips aligned. Grabbing the aligned fibers by their base hold them up to the hook shank and make the length more or less the same as the shank.
- Set the CDL fibers with the measured length on top of the hook shank and make several turns of the Glo Brite at the hook bend just before it to trap in position so that you can be sure of the length. Make any adjustments to the length now. Once set with the length begin making several tight turns just forward of the hook bend. Make several more turns of Glo Brite in a back and forth motion without advancing the thread to form a small bullet shape hot spot. Once there is a slight bullet advance the thread in open turns to the original tie in and secure with a Half hitch. Trim the thread away.
- Begin thread wraps at the eye with the White Veevus (or equivalent) to secure and advance to the hot spot the return to the original tie in of Glo Brite.and let the bobbin hang.
- Select a three or four inch piece of Veevus Iris Pearl and tie in with the white thread where the bobbin is hanging and begin tight touching turns of white thread trapping the Iris against the hook shank stopping at the Hot Spot. Let the bobbin hang.
- Select a very very thin strand of white kapok dubbing and attached lightly to the thread near the hook shank. It is nearly impossible to have too little dub but very possible to have too much. Create a dubbing noodle about two inches long (depending on the hook shank) and after spinning it very tight between your thumb and index finger begin making tight touching turns toward the hook eye stopping slightly past the half mark of the hook shank. Let the bobbin hang.
- Grab up the Iris thread with a hackle plier and make open but fairly close turns to the white thread bobbin. Secure the Iris thread with the white thread and trim the waste Iris thread. Let the bobbin hang.
- Select section of EP Trigger fibers choosing by choosing a fairly small amount and trim from the bundle a two inch length. If needed reduce the size of the trimmed amount because you will be doubling the amount when tying in. Holding the EP at a forty five degree angle against the hook shank, slightly back of half of the distance of the space between the eye and the end of the white dubbing, and trap on top of the hook shank dividing the EP into equal amounts. Make three or so turns on top of one another to secure the EP and then begin making turns in front of the EP by holding the EP up and out of the way of the bobbin. Repeat this process behind the EP and then make five or six turns around the EP above the hook shank while holding the EP fibers upright. Make one or two x turns of thread in front and behind the now vertical post. Let the bobbin hang.
- Select a small portion of Senyo Laser dubbing and form a short and thin noodle on the white thread. Keeping the noodle tight make one or two turns behind the wing post and one or two in front of the wing being careful to not crowd the hook eye. After the turns in front of the wing return the thread to behind the wing and let the bobbin hang.
- Select a Trouthunter Tan CDC feather and prep by holding the tip of the feather with tweezers and stroke back the barbs away from the tip leaving a very small triangle of barbs at the tip of the feather. Tie in the CDC by trapping the triangle immediately behind the wing post with several tight thread wraps and advance the thread to in front of the wing post and let the bobbin hang.
- Grab the CDC feather by the butt end and make two wraps behind the wing post, one in front of the other, and then one or two wraps in front of the wing post being careful to not crowd the eye. You will still need to form a small head. Trap the CDC stem against the hook shank in front of the wing post with several turns of thread. Two or three at the most wiggled through the CDC barbs. Stroke back the tied in feather barb and make several turns of thread in front of the CDC and away from the hook eye. Trim away the waste CDC and form a small head clear of the eye. Whip finish and trim the thread.
- The CDC will most likely be too long for the hook. Using the hook gape as a guide trim the barbs that are too long either by pinching tight between thumbnail and index fingernail or using scissors.