Fly Tying Sessions with Alex Jardine: Best Mayfly (Drake) Imitations

Welcome to The Fly Tying Sessions with Alex Jardine. These are fortnightly fly tying videos, looking to help offer new patterns, interesting techniques and hopefully a bit of fishing fun.
Today's topic looks into several successful mayfly (Ephemera Danica) imitations that also work well in Green Drake hatches. These patterns cover all stages of the life cycle.
Featured Flies (watch the video for material lists):
1. The Walker's Mayfly Nymph
2. The Jardine Mayfly Emerger
3. The Jardine French CDC Mayfly
4. The Spent Mayfly
Please do feel free to ask questions in the comments section, If you enjoy it, please like and subscribe for future videos!
Tight lines and strong threads!
Alex

[@kennethsanders963]

thank you Alex for the tutorial. I do enjoy most of your patterns and I did subscribe . I'm 69 yrs. old now and I don't get out fishing as much , but I do enjoy tying flies.I've been tying since I was 14 ,my dad gave me my first beginners kit and I've been tying ever since. Happy tying Ken.

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks Ken! lad that you find the videos enjoyable, there will be more coming soon...

[@andysfishingandflytyingcha2310]

Hi Alex, tied half a dozen of the emerger pattern xnc used it on the Avon around Salisbury yesterday. That fly is a fish magnet! First cast boom! The Danica were hatching but the trout weren't rising to them but hitting your emerger on nearly every cast, as well as znnoying little chub. What a great fly, looks amazing in the water.
Cheers. Great video. I've tied up all your Danica patterns.

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Hi Andy! Great to hear that you had success on the Emerger, it was the Salisbury waters where I spent most of my time fining the details of it. The other two dry patterns have also served me well. Hope you get a chance to have a few more mayfly sessions this season!

[@andysfishingandflytyingcha2310]

@@AlexJardineFlyFishing I'll be there again on Tuesday next week. As l'm sure you know the Mayfly hatch is less intense and lasts aot longer on the Avon so l hope l'll be using your patterns until at least the end of June and maybe longer.
Cheer's!

[@starskyarsky8374]

Excellent series of tying sequences.

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks Starksy!

[@kalikasurf]

Great series of flies! Hadn’t really thought about having them in each stage. But it’s glaringly obvious that I should have now! Back to the tying bench!!

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks! For the bigger flies then imitative nymphs do make a difference. For smaller upwings/mayflies you can get away with a generic pheasant tail or hare's ear nymph most of the time.

[@MyFly.]

Hi Alex, great tying and some lovely and realistic patterns, I'm fairly new to tying I just have one question on the 3rd fly you use a French partridge feather hackle in combination with cdc, I thought French partridge is a soft -ish wet fly feather ?, I though all dry fly had to have a rooster feather with a stiffer barb. Look forward to your reply. Thanks.

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Hi Mark, thanks for watching and glad you are enjoying the videos.
One of the key things with fly tying is not to confine yourself to ideas that materials only have one job, many have multiple uses.
The reason for using French partridge is for its draping hackle which creates the perfect shape and silhouette. The buoyancy comes from the CDC fibres and a level of floatation from the partridge hackle too.

[@MyFly.]

@@AlexJardineFlyFishing OK Alex thanks for the useful reply, very helpful and thanks for furthering my knowledge. I've got some French partridge feathers on order so looking forward to giving this fly a go..thanks again.

[@3000waterman]

I do like the spinner, particularly. Might you consider cropping the underside of the hackle, to allow it to sit down on the surface film?

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks, the spinner is a great pattern and yes you can cut, or singe, the underside of the hack to get that lower profile. worth having a few tied in both styles for the river. You can always trim the hackle down on the riverbank if you find a fussy trout.

[@neilnewman7460]

HI Alex. Given the combination of hackle materials in the The Jardine French CDC Mayfly, do you tend to dress it with any form of floatant?

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Hi Neil, fresh out the box you won’t need anything on it. After a fish I just dry it off and then apply a powder floatant, with a brush to help separate the CDC fibres. A liquid / gel floatant will stick the fibres together and can sink the fly

[@neilnewman7460]

@@AlexJardineFlyFishing thanks, Alex

[@regkane-Pluvis]

Alex, I love your videos however, I have a complaint to make, I was so engrossed watching you make the nymph my coffee got cold !! Reg

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Sorry! Certainly do not mean to ruin anyone's coffee!