Mayflies for Fly Fishing the Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Blue-winged Olive Emerger:
This is our "Perfect Fly"
Blue-winged Olive Emerger.

Flies: Mayflies

Fly Fishing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Blue-winged Olive Spinner:
This is our "Perfect Fly"
Blue-winged Olive Spinner..

Blue-winged Olive Dun:
This is our "Perfect Fly"
Blue-winged Olive Dun.

The following flies are what we recommend for
the various mayflies in the streams of the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park. The nymph can
be greased and fished in the surface skim or
weighted and fished on the bottom. The
emerging nymphs imitates those mayflies that
hatch in the surface skim just before it hatches. It
should be fished near or in the surface skim. The
emerging dun with a trailing shuck is part shuck
and part dun. It imitates the hatching mayfly and
should be fished in the surface skim. The dun is
a dry fly that should be fished on the surface
imitating the mayfly dun before it departs the
water. The emerging adult is a wet fly designed
to imitate those mayflies that hatch below the
surface from the bottom to near the surface. The
spinner is a spent dry fly that imitates the egg
layers and dead or dying mayflies.

Blue Quill:
Paraleptophlebia adoptive
Abundant, common distribution
Nymphs:
Blue Quill Nymph: 18

Emerging Nymphs:
Blue Quill Emerger: 18

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
Blue Quill emerger with Trailing Shuck: 18

Duns:
Blue Quill: 18

Spinners:
Blue Quill Spinner: 18
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Quill Gordon:
Epeorus pleuralis
Abundant, scattered distribution
Nymphs:
Quill Gordon Nymph: 12, 14

Emerging Adults: (Wet Flies):
Quill Gordon Emerging Adult: 12, 14

Duns:
Quill Gordon Dun: 12, 14

Spinners:
Quill Gordon Spinner: 12, 14
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Eastern Blue-winged Olive:
Drunella species
Modest Abundance, scattered distribution
Nymph:
Blue-winged Olive Nymph: 14, 16

Emerging Nymph:
Blue-winged Olive Emerger: 14,16

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
Blue-winged Olive Emerger with T. S.: 14, 16

Dun:
Blue-winged Olive Dun: 14, 16

Spinners:
Blue-winged Olive Spinner: 14, 16
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Small Eastern Blue-winged Olive
slight abundance, isolated distribution
Attenella
Nymph:
Blue-winged Olive Nymph: 20

Emerger:
Blue-winged Olive Emerger: 20

Emerger with Trailing Shuck:
Blue-winged Olive Emerging Dun with Trailing
Shuck::20

Dun:
Blue-winged Olive Dun: 20

Spinner:
Blue-winged Olive Spinner: 20
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Blue-winged Olive:
widespread abundance, modest distribution\
Baetis and Others
Nymphs:
Blue-winged Olive Nymph: 16, 18

Emerging Nymphs:
Blue-winged Olive Emerger: 16, 18

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
Blue-winged Olive Emerger TS: 16, 18

Duns:
Blue-winged Olive Dun: 16, 18

Spinners:
Blue-winged Olive Spinner: 16, 18
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Little Blue-winged Olive:
widespread abundance, modest distribution
Acentrella, Diphetor, Plauditus & Timpanoga sp
Nymph:
Blue=winged Olive Nymphs: 20

Emerger:
Blue-winged Olive Emerging Nymphs: 20

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
Blue-winged Olive Emerger with TS: 20

Duns:
Blue-winged Olive Dun: 20

Spinners:
Blue-winged Olive Spinner: 20
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Sulfur:
Isolated abundance, slight distribution
Ephemerella dorothea
Nymphs:
Sulfur Nymph: 16, 18

Emerging Nymphs:
Sulfur Emergers: 16, 18

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
Sulfur Emerger with TS: 16, 18

Duns:
Sulfur Dun: 16, 18

Spinners:
Sulfur Spinner: 16, 18
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Eastern Pale Evening Dun:
modest abundance, slight distribution
Ephemerella invaria
Nymphs:
Eastern Pale Evening Dun Nymph: 14

Emerging Nymphs:
Eastern Pale Evening Dun Emerger: 14

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
Eastern Pale Evening Dun Emerger with TS: 14

Dun:
Eastern Pale Evening Dun: 14

Spinners:
Eastern Pale Evening Dun Spinner: 14
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Hendricksons and Red Quill:
modest abundance, scattered distribution
Ephemerella subvaria
Nymphs:

Emerging Nymphs: Male: (Red Quill):
Hendrickson Emerger: 12, 14

Emerging Nymphs: Female:

Emerging Nymphs with Trailing Shuck: Male:
Red Quill:
Hendrickson Emerger with TS - Male: 12, 14

Emerging Dun with Trailing shuck: Female:
Hendrickson Emerger with TS - Female: 12, 14

Duns - Male:
Hendrickson Dun - Male: 12/14

Duns: - Female:
Hendrickson Dun - Female: 12, 14

Spinners - Male:
Hendrickson Spinner - Male: 12, 14

Spinners - Female:
Hendrickson Spinner -Female: 12, 14
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Little Dark Hendricksons:
trickling abundance, Isolated distribution
Serratella sp
Nymphs:
Little Dark Hendrickson Nymph: 18

Emerging Nymphs:
Little Dark Hendrickson Emerger: 18

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
Little Dark Hendrickson Emerger with TS: 18

Duns:
Little Dark Hendrickson Dun: 18

Spinners:
Little Dark Hendrickson Spinner: 18
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Eastern Green Drake and Coffin Fly:
modest abundance, Isolated distribution
(Abrams Creek) Ephemera guttulata
Nymphs:
Eastern Green Drake Nymph: 6/8/10

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck::
Eastern Green Drake Emerger with TS: 6/8/10

Duns:
Eastern Green Drake Dun: 6/8/10

Spinners - Male:
Eastern Green Drake Spinner - Male: 6/8/10

Spinners - Female:
Eastern Green Drake Spinner - Female: 6/8/10
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Brown Drake:
trickling abundance, isolated distribution
Ephemera simulans
Nymphs:

Emerging Nymphs:

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:

Duns:

Spinners: (Reddish Brown)

Dark Red Quill:
trickling abundance, isolated distribution
Cinygmula subaequalis
Nymphs:
Dark Red Quill Nymph: 14

Emerging Nymphs:
Dark Red Quill Emerger: 14

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
Dark Red Quill Emerger with TS: 14

Duns:
Dark Red Quill Dun: 14

Spinners:
Dark Red Quill Spinner: 14
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Slate Drake:
very abundant, widespread distribution
Isonychia bicolor

Nymphs:
Slate Drake Nymph: 10, 12

Spinners:
Slate Drake Spinner: 10, 12
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American March Browns:
abundant, common distribution
Maccaffertium vicarium
Nymphs:
American March Brown Nymph: 10, 12

Emerging Nymphs:
American March Brown Emerger: 10, 12

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
American March Brown Emerger with TS: 10, 12

Duns:
American March Brown Dun: 10, 12

Spinners:
American March Brown Spinner: 10, 12
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Light Cahills:
abundant, common distribution
Stenacron interpunctatum
Nymphs:
Light Cahill Nymph: 14, 16

Emerging Nymphs:
Light Cahill Emerger: 14, 16

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
Light Cahill Emerger with TS: 14, 16

Duns:
Light Cahill Dun: 14, 16

Spinners:
Light Cahill Spinner: 14, 16
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Light Cahills:
Modest abundance, isolated distribution
Maccaffertium species
Nymphs:
Light Cahill Nymph: 14, 16

Emergng Nymphs:
Light Cahill Emerger: 14, 16

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
Light Cahill Emerger with TS: 14, 16

Duns:
Light Cahill Dun: 14, 16

Spinners:
Light Cahill Spinner: 14, 16
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Cream Cahills:
Modest abundance, common distribution
Maccaffertium sp
Nymphs:
Cream Cahill Nymph: 14, 16

Emerging Nymphs:
Cream Cahill Emerger: 14, 16

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
Cream Cahill Emerger with TS: 14, 16

Duns:
Cream Cahill Dun: 14, 16

Spinners:
Cream Cahill Spinner: 14, 16
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Little Yellow Quills:
abundant, common distribution
Heptagenia Group
Nymphs:
Little Yellow Quill Nymph: 16

Emerging Nymphs:
Little Yellow Quill Emerger: 16

Emerging Dun with Trailing Shuck:
Little Yellow Quill Emerger with TS: 16

Duns:
Little Yellow Quill Dun: 16

Spinners:
Little Yellow Quill Spinner: 16
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Note:
Where we note a trickling abundance of a mayfly,
we recommend using imitations of them only
when you detect a hatch or abundance of
nymphs in the water of that particular mayfly.
Otherwise, you would be better off using an
imitation of a mayfly nymph that is more
abundant for the particular area of the stream, or
off course, if occurring, a dry fly dun or spinner for
the hatch of a more abundant mayfly.

Copyright 2008 James Marsh

Click below for a list of flies:

Mayflies:
Caddisflies:
Stoneflies:
Midges:
Streamers:
Terrestrials:

Quill Gordon Nymph::
This is the clinger nymph of
the Quill Gordon. Also, note
just below that it only has two
tails.

Epeorus pleuralis nymph:
A Quill Gordon showing off its
two tails.

Eastern Blue-winged Olive:
Three short tails and heavy
front legs are a couple of
things that help identify this
mayfly nymph from this image
taken at Little River.

Little Blue-winged Olive:
This is one of many species
of Little Blue-winged olives.

"Perfect Fly" Supper Swimmer
Nymph:
This is our own pattern for those
larger swimming nymphs. By
changing the colors of the
material used you can match any
of the larger swimming nymphs
such as the Slate Drakes found
in the Smokies. When it is
submerged in the water, its tails,
legs and gills move with the
currents and imitates the large
swimmers well.

Selecting a fly

Tying "Perfect Mayfly
Nymphs" : This new
instructional DVD (& CD of
recipes) teaches you how to
tie 7 basic "Perfect Fly"
patterns. By changing the
sizes and colors of materials
according to the recipes, you
can tie over 80 specific
imitations or flies that imitate
all the important species of
mayfly nymphs.

Tying "Perfect Mayfly Duns,
Emergers & Spinners": This
new instructional DVD (& CD
of recipes) teaches you how
to tie 7 basic "Perfect Fly"
patterns. By changing the
sizes and colors of materials
according to the recipes, you
can tie over 120 specific
imitations or flies that imitate
all the important species of
mayfly duns, spinners and
emerging duns.

Click for
more
information