Most of us fly-fishing enthusiasts, who can't spend the winter catching fish, catch other aspects of fly-fishing life to tide us over till that splendid day we so fondly know as 'opening day'. We do a lot of tying, spinning out both new and familiar patterns. There's also a good amount of reading available to us - from pattern details to fishing stories straight from the bull, doesn't matter, if it smells like a river, were in it.

There's also good coffee and banter to be had at the fly shops as we restock on supplies. It's also a good time to go to our fly-fishing club meetings and events, thanks to groups like MFFC, TU, and FFF who get us through our winter withdrawals.

Many of us spend endless hours tying our favorite patterns or trying our hand at new ones, all the while dreaming of a cherished stretch of river or things like the big one that got away, and how we'll make up for it!

As the opener gets closer we chomp at the bit to meet up with comrades with whom we'll wet our lines, and perhaps our whistles, too. Some rivers are open year-round but it's a special occasion and tradition on April 26, to be out there doing what I love to do, fishing one of my favorite early season patterns, the Ephemeroptera, commonly known as the Hendrickson Mayfly. If the right temperature condition exists and the wind's not blowing, the opener can have some fantastic hatches of these dark-bodied flies. Here's a quick overview of these mayflies in their respective order:

Ephemeroptera, which means "short-lived, winged insect enduring but a day".

The end of one mayfly's life cycle is the beginning of the next generation, which begins with:

Eggs - deposited on the surface, they sink to the bottom where incubation takes place and in approximately 2 weeks they hatch to become

Nymphs (larvae) - nymphs live about one year, feeding on algae and other plant matter. There are 4 types of nymphs; clingers, crawlers, swimmers, and burrowers. At the end of this one year stage the nymph swims to the surface and sheds its exoskeleton. This transition is known as emerging. This emergence can happen quickly or in some cases the nymph may struggle for quite sometime or never complete this phase resulting in some stillborn or crippled. In any event, if you don't see many flies "hatching" but fish are feeding, there's a good chance it's this transitional "emerger" that's the main course.

If nymphs make it through this transition the next stage starts:

Dun/Adult (Sub Imago) Upon emerging the adults have sprouted wings - gray in color - hence the name Dun. The most notable characteristics are upright wings with prominent tails sweeping back and an upright curved body.

Most are under inch in length but a few are up to 1- inches i.e. (Hex)

A main feature distinguishing male from female are their eyes. Males have large eyes and females have quite small eyes. Males are more of a blood red color, typically darker than females. Females are packed with eggs but are not sexually mature and are unable to mate. They drift on the surface looking like little sailboats until their wings are dry, then they fly off to bushes or trees where yet another stage takes place. The Duns molt and become mature adults (imago) or "spinners", their bodies become brighter, tails lengthen, and wings become clear.

Spinner stage (Imago) In the right weather conditions males swarm 30 to 60 feet above the water waiting for females to enter the scene, which normally occurs in late afternoon. These flies are quite small to view at that distance. A good tip is to watch for bird activity as they feast on the bugs over the river. Once the mating ritual is complete the female drops to the water surface and deposits the eggs and dies, or, becomes "spent" (know as the spinners fall). Once again, the life cycle for one is over and new life begins.

Ideal conditions to see a hatch in: temperature between 60-75 with little or no wind, and most activity for mayflies is at early dawn (pmd's) and dusk (Hendricksons & Sulfurs).

Here are four flies will cover the complete Hendrickson Lifecycle.

MAYFLY PATTERNS

Hendrickson Nymph

HOOK: Standard or 1x long - size 14-16
THREAD: Brown 6/0 or 8/0
WEIGHT: Wire or Bead (optional)
RIB: Fine copper wire (optional)
TAIL: Wood duck flank or mallard dyed wood duck flank
ABDOMEN: Natural fur dubbing - brown
WING CASE: Turkey tail - treated
THORAX: Natural fur dubbing - brown
LEGS: Mottled brown feather
* Other popular nymphs are pheasant tail, hare's ear

 Hendrickson Transitional Nymph (Emerger)

by Rene Harrop

Hendrickson Emerger

HOOK: Standard dry fly size 14
THREAD: Brown 6/0 - 8/0
WEIGHT: Wire (optional)
TAIL: Wood duck flank or mallard
ABDOMEN: Emerger brown
WING: (Dun) CDC feather
THORAX: Rust (dry fly)
LEGS: Wood duck
*Other popular emergers: floating nymphs, red quill

Hendrickson Dun (Burnt wing)

by Chauncey Lively

Hendrickson Dun
HOOK: Standard dry fly 16
THREAD: Brown 8/0
TAIL: Lt/med. grey spade hackle (sparse)
WING: Lt/med. grey hen hackle (burnt)
BODY: Dark tan (BCS 99)
HACKLE: Med/dark Dun

Tie in wings (splayed but not figured 8) and tail. Tie in hackle at front of hook just behind the eye. Dub body from front to back and leave thread and bobbin in just in front of tail.
Now wind hackle back to thread and whip-finish there. Trim hackle close to the underside of hook creating a small "v".

Hendrickson Spinner
by John McLain

HOOK: 5212 or any 2x long 2x fine size 14
THREAD: Brown 8/0
TAIL: Micro-fibbets or spade hackle (split)
BODY: Dark tan (BCS 99)
WING: 2 med dun hackles

Tie in tail, use a small amount of bright yellow dubbing to help split tails (also represents egg sac). Then dub body, tie in 2 hackles and wrap forward. Then clip off hackles on the bottom of the fly.

Armed with these four flies, you will be prepared for the Hendrickson hatch that occurs around opening day in Michigan. Good luck!

By Bruce Derington