mayflies almost full force….

i just got home a little bit ago and noticed that the mayflies are thick all around our house!! I dont know when they will be at thier peak, but there are mayfly clumps hanging from the trees allready, and mini clouds in the sky.

anybody ever really notice a difference in the catfish bite during the mayfly hatch. Honestly, i have never noticed any differnce, but this is only one person’s obervation. What do u boys think?

I’ve used it as excuse #363 one year, but have had great nights in the middle of the hatch other years.

By the way, I’m using:

Excuse #121 – water’s too muddy
Excuse #53 – darned pressure changed too rapidly
Excuse #112 – spawn is on
Excuse #166 – too much rain
Excuse #32 – too cold

to explain the bizarre fact that I’ve been skunked on flatheads my last three times out, including tonight. We saw several mayflies, but nowhere near what it will look like in full hatch if it’s anything like a normal year.

Thanks Flathead…you’ve given me hope!

I think that mayflies affect the channel cats more than flatheads. Whether they key on the mayflys themselves or the bait that feeds on the mayflies I’m not sure, probably both. I’ve heard stories of channels being seen near shore under lights where mayflies are swarming – sucking them in.

The best night of flathead fishing I ever had was right below a tree heavy with flies. They were not eating the flies but the fish that were intent on eating the flies. This is a difficult pattern to fish because so many flies in so many trees, but I know one I go to every time I see flies.