Isonychia mayflies offer some of the best dry-fly activity from late summer through early fall, especially in the Midwest and the East. Although they don’t hatch in huge numbers, these bugs are big enough that trout can become quite excited. And when the mayflies that hatched sporadically throughout the day become concentrated during a spinnerfall, fly fishers can find themselves in the midst of eagerly rising trout, even some big ones.
Here’s a great video, by Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions, which features the tying stylings of author and blogger Matt Grobert. As with all of Tightline’s videos, this one offers some excellent tips that make what looks to be a complex pattern easier to tie. The way Grobert constructs the extended body and the splayed wings require just a little thread-craft, and the results are realistic and attractive.
Isonychia Spinner from Tightline Productions on Vimeo.
Isonychia Spinner
Hook: Standard dry-fly hook (e.g.Dai-Riki #305), sizes 10 and12.
Thread: Brown, 3/0.
Tail/abdomen: Moose body hair, cleaned and stacked.
Wings: Natural deer body hair, cleaned and stacked.
Thorax: Burgundy, black, and gray dubbing, mixed.
Head: Tying thread.