Dry fly
Dad's Favourite
Traditional NZ mayfly dry
TroutSurface
A traditional New Zealand mayfly dry with a slim quill body and grey wing — a long-standing favourite for the Deleatidium hatch and an excellent change-of-silhouette from the Twilight Beauty on technical water.
Fish this when
Through the mayfly rise on clear water, especially when fish have seen a lot of the standard dun and want a slightly different profile. Prime on the Southland and Otago rivers.
Why it works
Its sparse, quill-bodied profile and upright wing match the slim NZ duns and float well in the surface film, fooling the wary, well-educated browns of the clear-water rivers.
Naturals it imitates
mayfly dun (Deleatidium)
Typical zone & fishable range
usually
Surface
Film
Subsurface
Deep
Setup sensitivity: medium