What Fish Eat
Aquatic insects make up the majority of a fish's diet. The four key insect orders (listed first and not including Streamers or Terrestrials) that emerge from streams and lakes are:
Mayflies Important to Fly Fishing
When fly fishing in the Western U.S., the angler can typically rely on three species to pattern mayflies. These commonly used mayfly patterns are:
Mayflies - Order Ephemeroptera
Mayflies are diverse with 21 families and 676 species in North America. Mayfly larvae when plentiful, can produce the bulk of a freshwater trout's diet (i.e., the role rabbits and mice play in a terrestrial ecosystems.) For identification purposes, mayfly nymphs can be divided into swimmers, clingers, crawlers, and burrowers. Swimmers are long, slender, and as their namesake suggests - great swimmers. Clingers have stouter legs, a flattened body, and a head the is narrower than the rest of the body. Crawlers are squat to the ground and their head is wider than the body.
Mayfly Nymphs
Mayfly Dunn
Pattern Name | Color | Hook Size | Thumbnail Image |
---|---|---|---|
Pale Morning Dun - No Hackle | Yellow Body | # 18 | ![]() |
Mayfly Spinner
Pattern Name | Color | Hook Size | Thumbnail Image |
---|---|---|---|
Poly Wing Mayfly Spinner | Black Body | # 20 | ![]() |
Trico Spinner | Olive Abdomen / Brown Thorax | # 20 | ![]() |
Photo of October Caddisfly by P. Michael Carl © The Ecological Angler