Mayflys

[hobbydog]

Can someone explain the mayfly hatch and it's impact on the bite. I have fished the opener in northeastern MN many times were there is a good bite and the eyes are full of mayfly larvae. I have also fished in mid May after a big hatch and the bite shut off completely. How do you fish eyes before, during and after a hatch. Any info on mayflys and how they relate to walleye fishing would be great.

Thanks

[Dano2]

I wonder how pulling shallow running cranks would work in a time like this?

Was out yesterday morning, tons of bugs on the lake, nobody was haveing much luck,

I was seeing alot of fish on the locater quite far off the bottem and just assumed they probably weren't wallys and tryed for the ones close to bottem.
I was tempted all morning to start pulling cranks, I never did though, why? I just dont know.

[Ranckenstuff]

The impact on the bite will depend on a number of things. I fished lake vermilion two weeks ago with success, and mayflys were hatching. Mornings and evenings have proven to have the most potential during the hatch. Weather affects the hatch because if you have calm warm days the mayflys will hatch quicker than say stormy humid days followed by windy sunny days. The weather being unstable will prolong the hatch for weeks at a time. In my experience the fish that experience a massive hatch on the whole lake, will be very inactive for up to five days after that. But in my case where I was fishing during the sporadic hatch, the fish were still biting. Thats what I know...anyone have different results?? the same results??

[hobbydog]

What I would like to know is what is the life cycle of a mayfly. On the opener I have found 19 to 22 in walleyes packed full of the larvae. How long are they in the larvae stage? It must be for a fairly long period before they hatch. When there has been a large hatch I have seen it shut off completely, tried everything and nothing for a couple of days. The ones I have caught before the hatch have had minnows and crayfish but not mayflys.....that is why this has always been a mystery to me. I hate planning a week trip, get good weather and then see a big hatch shut it down.

[musky hunter]

I've never had good luck fishing walleyes during a mayfly hatch. But I have seen walleyes surfacing and presumably eating mayflies on Lake Winnibigoshis. I think it becomes their prime food choice if the hatch is especially prolific. this may not apply to larger female fish, but to the run of the mill under 18" walleye, I believe mayflies are indeed walleye snacks. I wanted to try fly fishing on the one hatch but was completely unprepared for it.

[can it be luck?]

Not being a biologist, my thoughts are based on experince and basic knowledge of science and fishing. Mayfly larvae or wigglers as we call them when used for bait in winter, live in the mud throughout the year. I've caught fish that had larvae in their stomachs all times of the year. When conditions are right the larvae emerge from the mud to metamorphis into the fly. At this time the larvae/fly is the most vulnerable and provide a easy meal for the fish. When fish are feeding on them they will usually feed solely on them and ignore anything else. Prior to the main hatch areas that harbor the larvae can be excellent fishing spots. Usually shallower bays with mud,sand, and vegetation. Evenings when the water is at its warmest and calmest are when alot of the hatches take place. Fish activity can sometimes clue you to these spots. Small pieces of crawlers and small jig heads or plain hooks and split shot will simulate the larvae. The 21-28 of June I spent a week on Blackduck Lake. Saturday through thursday provided outstanding fishing for perch, walleye, and some "pie plate" gills, all were loaded with larvae. At this time the flys had not hatched yet. After the cold rainy weather on wednsday and thursday the water temps dropped 4-6 degrees and the fishing slowed way down. The fish we did catch had empty stomachs. Quite a change 1 day makes. Fished Winni on Friday, beautiful day, but the lake was loaded with empty husks of mayflys and other types of flys. Needless to say the fish wouldn't bite. Sort of like bringing a snack to a buffet. Yesterday and today I fished Lake Michigan out of Kewaunee Wi. and there were dead and dieing alewive everywhere. I dont know why they were dieing, but the fishing was terrible untill you hit 500-600 feet and there were no dead alewive. My thinking is when there's so much food in the water we just can't compete. Mark Hoffmann/can it be luck?

[Dano2]

Thats some great info.

[Gerd]

Generally I like to fish the weeds when the mayflies hatch. those walleyes don't seem to be quite affected quite as much. Another option would be to "match the hatch" like a fly fisherman. Use a standard live bait rig (unless the fish are hitting in the top half of the water column or so) but instead of a hook use a mayfly imitation from your fly box. If you don't have a fly box, go with a fuzzee grub type body on a very light jig. The light jig achieves a slower, more natural fall than a heavier jig. I have not found that tipping any of these presentations with live bait makes a whole lot o fdifference, but definitely do it if you think it will help. Good luck, that's what half of fishing is!

[can it be luck?]

There is a bait that is used frequently on Lake Erie when the mayflys hatch. It's called a mayfly rig. Basicly a crawler harness trolled with a bottom bouncer baited with a 1-2 in. piece of crawler. I like to make my own useing a clevis,3-5 beads,single bait grabber hook,and small colorado blade. Sometimes it's hard to find scaled down harnesses and the interchangeable clevis allows for a quick change of blades. Slow troll or a nice drift speed to fish them. Even though they produce some fish, bottom line is hatch bite is a tough bite. A couple of years back in Toledo Ohio, they were useing plows to get the flys off the streets, they were that thick! Talk about a tough bite. On Erie's zebra mussel bottom this type of fishing is easy. Fishing the northern lakes with abundant weeds and ever changeing bottom can make this type of fishing tough and frustrating, but I have tryed and caught walleye useing this method. Mark Hoffmann/can it be luck?

[rushing]

Being a flyfisherman I love mayflies. I have always heard of Wally guys complaining about the bite being off due to a hatch, but why doesn't anyone go to a fly shop and pick up a few mayfly nymphs and try a linde rig with a nymph. I'm sure with alittle experimenting someone could come up with a new method of walleye fishing. You could be out there hammering them like some kinda pro.

Just a thought.

rob

[Aquaman01]

Informative thread - thanks ya'll!