The Mayfly Guide

By Al Caucci

For anglers looking to increase their catch, this indispensable guide reveals the steps to easily and confidently identifying the three stagesnymph, dun, and spinnerof many common mayfly species found in North America. Including information on when and where mayflies hatch and how trout feed on them along with illustrated species charts, this reference avoids the abstractions of complex scientific keys and words and instead favors a practical and visual approach that supports quick learning. Waterproof pages and a small trim size enhance the guide’s portability, making it as sensible as it is useful.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scott Nix, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9781935622260

Book preview

About the Author

Al Caucci is co-author of Hatches II: A Complete Guide to the Hatches of North American Trout Streams. He was inducted into the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame in October 2006 and is one of the founders and a current officer of the Friends of the Upper Delaware River. He operates Al Caucci Fly Fishing, a travel destination fly-fishing service with his wife Betti. They live on the West Branch of the Delaware River in Starlight, Pennsylvania. www.mayfly.com

Praise for The Mayfly Guide

At last, a pocket guide to aquatic insects comparable in quality and practicality to the Peterson Field Guides…bugs made decipherable!

—John Randolph, Fly Fisherman Magazine

Authoritative, practical, and indispensable for the onstream identification of mayflies.

—Nick Lyons, author of Spring Creek

A wonderfully functional reference for anglers…. Certainly among the best streamside guides I’ve ever seen.

—Ted Leeson, author of Inventing Montana

Apart from a wise old brown trout, no one knows more about mayflies than Al Caucci.

—Peter Kaminsky, author of The Moon Pulled Up an Acre of Bass

Other Titles by Scott & Nix

About Trout: The Best of Robert Behnke from Trout Magazine (Lyons Press)

The Brook Trout Poster, illustrated by Flick Ford

Classic Flyfishing Patterns Poster, illustrated by Ernest G. Schwiebert, Jr.

Classic Trout Flies 18 Card Set, illustrated by Ernest G. Schwiebert

Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West, by Patrick Trotter (University of California Press)

Freshwater Gamefish of North America 18 Card Set, illustrated by Joseph R. Tomelleri

Freshwater Gamefish of North America Poster, illustrated by Joseph R. Tomelleri

Matching the Hatch, (ePub edition) by Ernest G. Schwiebert, Jr.

Matching the Hatch, (Kindle edition) by Ernest G. Schwiebert, Jr.

Mayflies of North America Print Series, illustrated by Ernest G. Schwiebert, Jr.

The Mayfly Guide, (print edition) by Al Caucci

Sunfishes of North America 18 Card Set, illustrated by Joseph R. Tomelleri

Sunfishes of North America Poster, illustrated by Joseph R. Tomelleri

Tight Lines: Ten Years of the Yale Anglers’ Journal, illustrated by James Prosek (Yale University Press)

Trout of North America Calendar, illustrated by Joseph R. Tomelleri (Workman Publishing)

Trout of North America 18 Card Set, illustrated by Joseph R. Tomelleri

Trout of North America Poster, illustrated by Joseph R. Tomelleri

Published by

Scott & Nix, Inc.

150 W 28th St, Ste 1103

NY, NY 10001

(e) [e-mail]

(t) 212.627.5909

(w) scottandnix.com

Al Caucci Flyfishing Enterprises

1250 Winterdale Road

Starlight, PA 18461

(e) [e-mail]

(t) 570.635.5897

(w) www.mayfly.com

Copyright © 2011 by Al Caucci and Scott & Nix, Inc.

All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-935622-26-0 (ePub)

ISBN 978-1-935622-27-7 (Kindle)

ISBN 978-1-935622-25-3 (PDF)

ISBN 978-0-9799037-9-3 (Print)

Contents

Introduction

Nymph Anatomy

Dun and Spinner Anatomy

How to Use This Book

Identifying Nymphs

Identifying Duns and Spinners

Illustrated Species Charts

Pronunciation Guide

Index of Common Names

Species Index

Selected Bibliography

Acknowledgments

This guide is dedicated to George Scott and Charles Nix for their undiminished enthusiasm and tireless work on this project! And to Betti, my wife, for her perpetual patience and support.

Many thanks to Blair Caucci, Jeff White, Jerry Wolland, and to the instructor/guide staff at Al Caucci Flyfishing Schools (1985–2008), who helped me spread the gospel on these incredible insects.

Special thanks to John Miller for his great photos of Ephemerella X, male dun and spinner; Ephemera simulans and Leptophlebia nymph photos.

Bob Nastasi, one of the most respected fly