Overview

The Hairwing Drake (also called the Hairwing Dun) from Umpqua is a traditional mayfly dry tied with a coastal deer hair wing, made for the large drake mayflies that bring big trout to the surface.

Coastal deer hair, treated with floatant, rides high and stays up through choppy water, so this pattern works where drakes hatch in riffles and pockets. The upright hair wing gives trout the tall silhouette of a freshly hatched dun and gives you a fly that is easy to follow. Drakes are among the largest mayflies trout see, and a well-floating size 10 gives fish the meal they are looking for.

How to Fish It

• During a drake hatch: dead drift it on 4X or 5X tippet through riffles and seams where duns are coming off.
• Searching: after a few days of drakes, trout will often rise to a big mayfly even when only a few are hatching.
• Dry-dropper: it floats well enough to carry a small nymph tied 18 to 24 inches off the bend.
• Keep it high: treat the deer hair with floatant and dry it after each fish.

Choosing Color and Size

Green matches green drakes, the big olive-bodied mayflies of early summer. Gray matches gray drakes and other dark-bodied large mayflies. Both come in size 10, the size of most adult drakes.