If you've ever fished soft riffles and clean pools, you know that big,
hungry trout love to lurk in these sweet spots. These big fish love to
hold their positions in the soft current, waiting for that perfect
moment to rise and take a sip on a helpless crippled sulfer mayfly.
The Mayfly Cripple Limestone is an excellent imitation of the sulfer
mayfly in the emerger or cripple life stage. It's also the perfect fly
pattern to have strung on your leader when the water is cool and you've
spotted the first few of these pale yellow mayflies fluttering off the
water's surface. With a whack of stiff, hollow fibers and a puff of CDC
feathers for a tail, this fly rides right in the surface film and shows
a realistic profile that will tantalize even the most wary trout!
Specifications:
- A great standard pattern for anyone who regularly fishes for trout in moderate to fast water
- Sulfer imitation in the emerger or cripple life stage
- Use as either an impressionistic searching fly or as a realistic imitation when matching the hatch
- Fish on a dead drift in medium to fast water; perfect for riffles and pocket water
- Play with line tension during the drift to simulate a nymph struggling to emerge
- Traditional wet fly swing techniques will also yield good results in fast water situations
- This fly’s wing post is highly visible, so fish it confidently in fast water!
- SIZE 16
When and Where to Fish the Mayfly Cripple Limestone
This mayfly emerger or cripple can be fished as either and
impressionistic fly pattern when searching for trout or as a realistic
imitation when matching the hatch. When searching, fish this fly in
medium to fast water. When matching the hatch, look for signs of
hatching sulfer mayflies in deeper riffles, runs, and pools. Tie this
neat little bug at the end of your leader when sulfer emergers are
about to break the surface film and hatch into winged adults. If
there's a good number of hung-in-the-shuck sulfers, you'll turn some
great results. It’s also an effective searching pattern when you’re
unsure of what may be feeding on below the surface.
How to Fish the Mayfly Cripple Limestone
Fish this fly on a dead drift through moderate riffles and pocket
water, as these nymphs thrive in well oxygenated environments. Because
of the Sulfer’s long and difficult emergence, presentation is
important. Play with variations in line tension as you drift this
emerger. The subtle movements and twitches created by varying your
slack line during the drift can imitate the emergent or crippled
insect’s struggle quite well. You can also find success by employing a
traditional wet fly swing technique when fishing this fly pattern
through really fast water.
Sulfer
The Sulfer (Ephemerella dorothea)
is a mayfly that enjoys a healthy and wide distribution in trout water
across North America. The Sulfer can be an important hatch in the
rivers and streams of the northeastern United States. The Sulfer
follows the life stages of a typical mayfly life cycle and generally
hatches in a narrow window from the end of May through the middle
weekend in July. Nymphs tend to be brownish colored with banded legs
and adult duns are a rich sulfer yellow through the abdomen, wings, and
tails.
Sulfer Emerger Life Stage
During their nymph life stage, these crawlers are commonly found
inching along rocky and debris-littered river bottoms. These nymphs
thrive in moderate to fast water. Look for emergers in medium to fast
moving riffles, pocket water, and longer runs. Water temperatures
should be cool, but not too cold. The densest populations of Sulfer
emergers are most often observed in areas where water clarity is high.
Sulfer emergers are quite vulnerable for a considerable amount of time
prior to actually hatching into adult duns. Trout can easily nab these
poor swimmers as they struggle to shed their nymphal shuck. Sulfer
emergers frequently get trapped or “hung in their shuck,” failing to
discard it completely. As a result of this failed emergence, they are
exposed as food to hungry trout, making the emerger life stage of the
Sulfer important to understand and imitate.
Leland on Umpqua
In
1972 a man named Dennis Black and his fly tying skills found themselves
in high demand. Mr. Black, then a professional production fly tyer, was
famous in the industry for his unsurpassed skill and speed with
whipping up tremendously beautiful and precisely constructed flies. It
wasn’t long until this young fly tying superstar realized that he ought
to take his consistent approach to quality to the next level. Shortly
after this realization, a small army of fly tyers had banded together
to support Mr. Black’s vision. With the likes of Dave Whitlock, Jack
Dennis, and Andy Puyans, Mr. Black was officially in business.
Dennis
Black’s new company Umpqua Feather Merchants quickly extended its reach
and fly production capabilities with expansion into India, Sri Lanka,
and Thailand, where the world’s first and full blown “fly tying
factories” were built. Since those early days, only the highest
standard of excellence has marked Umpqua and this commitment to quality
and efficiency continues to spur the company forward. Dennis Black’s
innovative vision for “fly production” has truly revolutionized how the
fly industry operates and has ultimately made the majority of
production flies better. From the first “royalty system” for rewarding
the most creative professional fly tyers to streamlining production
systems and offering a range of other products, Umpqua Feather
Merchants just seems to “do it all.”
Today, Umpqua Feather
Merchants is without a doubt the world’s best and most prolific
supplier of hand tied fly fishing flies as well as fly tying hooks and
materials, and they recently got better! Umpqua’s brand new, state of
the art headquarters in Louisville, Colorado marks another paradigm
shift in the way fly tying business is done. From its vast warehouse to
its specially designed inventory management and tracking system, Umpqua
is poised to continue its energetic trajectory and lead the way for the
next generation of flies and fly tyers.
Umpqua on Umpqua
"As you may or may not know, we're the
largest producer of quality hand-tied flies in the world. We also make
available through your local fly shop a wide array of the finest
fly-tying hackle and Tiemco hooks.
At Umpqua we offer
everything the angler needs to a have a first class fishing experience.
(Everything that is, but the water and the fish.)"
Umpqua on Dennis Black and the “Obvious Quest”
“The idea
first took shape in the hands of our founder, Dennis Black, back in
1972. As a fast and facile professional fly tyer, Dennis was known for
his skill and speed at producing hundreds of dozens of flies each year
for the larger mail order houses. But he was also quick to realize how
fast the demand for excellent flies would outstrip the abilities of
cottage industry types like him.
The Obvious Quest: To create
excellent flies in sufficient supply – without sinking his standards.
In response, Dennis developed (with characteristic care) a methodical
plan: First, he enlisted the tying expertise of the likes of Dave
Whitlock, Jack Dennis, Andy Puyans and others, to help him set the
standard of excellence for Umpqua flies.
Next, Dennis
established the first of what would eventually be five separate
fly-tying “factories,” first in India, then in Sri Lanka, and finally
in Thailand. The primary focus at each of these factories was on
producing the very best fishing flies possible, constructed of the very
best materials available. From the beginning, the quantity of flies
produced was secondary to the quality and excellence of each fly
pattern. These high standards were assured by the personal involvement
of the fly designers themselves, and by the ever-increasing skill,
imagination and creativity of the Umpqua production fly tiers. Today,
you will find no flies more skillfully tied than those available from
Umpqua Feather Merchants.
Finally, Dennis created a system of
royalty payments, to reward professional tyers like Whitlock, Lefty
Kreh, Randall Kaufman, Larry Dahlberg, and Bob Popovics for uniquely
good patterns.
The Result: Today, Umpqua produces umpteen
thousand dozen flies, from micro-scopic midge imitations to the huge
patterns favored by marlin and sailfish. And the "Umpquality" – you’ll
see for yourself.”