Grey Mayfly Nymph

I guess we are now at the beginning of the fly tying season so I will post a few flies every now and then. I’ll start today with a fly I often turn to when the mayfly fishing is difficult due to calm conditions. This is a very easy nymph to tie but getting the right colour of materials is the hard part. You need a pale blueish grey. A bit of experimenting with the dye bath will soon get you there!

Hook: 10 or 12 heavy wet fly hook

Tying silk: I use black normally but sometimes I think olive is better, 8/0 either way

Tail: a few short fibres of cock pheasant tail

Rib: yellow wire

Butt: dull rusty orange fur, just a turn or two

Body: pale grey seal’s fur either just as it comes out of the dye bath or spiced up with the slightest tint of blue, olive and orange seals fur blended in. Tie the body slim, thickening towards the eye.

Wing pads: dark grey from the wings of a drake mallard

Hackle: a hen hackle dyed the same colour as the body, just a couple of turns.

You can add some weight to this fly but I try to keep it as slim as possible so instead of adding weight under the dressing I fish the nymph on the dropper with a heavier fly on the tail.