Overview

The Mimic May is the first pattern in signature tyer Chris Johnson's Mimic series, a family of all-natural dry flies built to match local mayflies.

Johnson uses only natural materials: a deer hair body, a tail of stripped hackle fibers and a spun CDC thorax. Deer hair floats high and absorbs less water than foam, and the CDC thorax adds float and movement. The fly sits up on rough water when paused, and it holds up when skittered or skated, which can trigger fish when mayflies are fluttering on the surface.

How to Fish It

• Dead drift: fish it to rising trout during the hatch on 5X or 6X.
• Skitter or skate: a small skitter imitates a mayfly struggling to take off and can bring up fish that ignore a dead drift.
• Floatant: use powder or dry-shake floatant on the CDC thorax instead of gel.
• Dry-dropper: the CDC thorax can support a small, light dropper.

Choosing Color and Size

PMD in size 18 matches Pale Morning Duns, a key late spring and summer hatch on Western tailwaters and spring creeks. Cahill in size 14 matches the pale, creamy Light Cahill mayflies of summer evenings, especially on Eastern and Midwestern streams.