Morris May Emerger

Morris May Emerger Callibaetis

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Tying Instructions

1. Debarb the hook by pressing the vise jaws on the barb and attach the hook to the vise exposing the hook point. Attach the thread to the hook behind the eye.

2. Readjust the hook so that it is at a 45 degree slant and the bend of the hook is at the apex. Lay a thread foundation to this apex position.

3. Select a section of tailing fibers. I am using a Light Pardo tailing hackle.

4. Clip a section of the fibers and keep the tips even. Measure the tail length to be 1/2 to 3/4 of the hook gap.

5. Secure the tail material at the bend of the hook and secure the remaining material up the shank just past the midpoint of the shank.

6. Reset the hook so that the shank is level. Secure a wire ribbing to the bottom of the hook finishing at the tail tie-in position.

7. Dub the thread at the base of the tail with Antron dubbing. Lock in the fibers with one wrap and twist the dubbing around the thread.

8. Wrap the dubbing forward with a tapered abdomen to just past the hook midpoint.

9. Wrap the ribbing with spirol wraps about 4-5 turns until you reach mid-shank. Secure the wire ribbing with thread wraps.

10. Attach a small amount of Superfine to the thread by twisting the material, the fibers will interlock and tighten.

11. Dub a small ball for a thorax. Leave room for the winging material.

12. Clip off a portion of Deer Hair, I am using bleached Coastal deer hair. Clean out the underfur with a comb and hold the hair by the tips to comb out the smaller hairs. Put the hair into a hair stacker to even the tips.

13. Pull out the tips from the stacker and measure a length that is equal to the hook shank.

14. Tie in the Deer hair wing just in front of the thorax with two tight thread wraps lifting the thread upwards to tighten. Hair tips should protrude in front of the eye.

15. Wrap a narrow band of thread holding the wing material.

16. Raise the butts of the hair and trim the butts just above the thorax straight across.

17. Lift the hair tips and place 3-4 tight wraps up against the base of the hair.

18. Use your thumbnail to press against the base of the hair and spread the fibers to a 180 degree flare.

19. Apply some additional thread wraps in front of the hair to keep the hair upright.

20. Whip Finish and apply some head cement to the thread head. The finished Morris May Emerger, Callibaetis

 

 

 

 

 

 

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	Daiichi 1130 #14-16
Thread	Uni-thread Gray 8/0
Body	Callibaetis Antron Dubbing
Thorax	Callibaetis Superfine Dubbing
Tail	Light Pardo Tailing fibers
Wing	Bleached Coastal Deer Hair
Ribbing	Small Silver Wire

Skip Morris

Morris May Emerger

The Morris May Emerger is a hybrid pattern between the Comparadun and the Quigley Cripple. Skip featured this pattern in his book, “Trout Flies for Rivers” in 2009 but the pattern itself was designed much earlier. The important aspect that Skip was looking for was the orientation of the fly within the water column.

The comparadun sits level with the water surface while the Quigley Cripple sits at a 90 degree or perpendicular angle. Skip wanted a more natural 45 degree aspect to the fly. He got it by eliminating the hackle off the Quigley Cripple and flaring the deer hair wing so that it spreads like a comparadun.

Type of Hair is Important

It is important to use Coastal Deer Hair or Comparadun Hair to achieve the proper 180 degree flare required. The pattern is very buoyant, even without the hackle, but Skip will apply floatant to the trimmed hair butts. The pattern is tied on a light wire scud hook, often a TMC 2487 or a Daiichi 1130. The tailing can be either spade hackle fibers or pheasant tail fibers depending on the coloration of the pattern. The abdomen and thorax can also vary using either natural or synthetic materials. The pattern is defined by the wing construction. Morris May emergers are often fished as a dead drift and providing a subtle action with a slight twitch.

Mayfly Hatches

Fishing emergers can be quite productive in the film. During a mayfly hatch, the nymphs on the bottom of the streambed or lake will start to generate gases between their exoskeleton and body. Eventually, the nymphs have no choice but to float to the surface. The nymphs try to swim back down to no avail and this “dance” creates excitement for the trout. At the surface they hold just beneath the film with only the hump of the thorax breaking the meniscus.

Within moments the thorax splits and the adult emerges. The mayfly pulls its head and then its legs out of the husk of the exoskeleton. It sprawls the legs out across the water and, levering down against the surface tension, draws the wings and abdomen out of the shuck. Only the tail remains in the husk and then it too pulls free leaving the mayfly to drift across the surface of the lake as it hardens its wings.

Callibaetis

The Callibaetis pattern is a good choice on lakes where the hatch might occur in late Spring or early Fall. Look for hatches over submerged weed beds in sizes 14-16. During the early Spring, the coloration of the Callibaetis is a dark sooty gray but once waters warm up in early Fall the colorations will be lighter and with the dark wings, the insect has a speckled effect, thus also known as the Speckled Dun.

Trout will key upon the emergers rather than duns or nymphs since they are an easy meal waiting for them at the surface. On our rivers, the baetis or BWO, are often hatching from Fall through Spring. The sizes are drastically on the small side with sizes 18-22. The Pale Morning Duns are an important hatch on our rivers from late Spring into Fall with a size 16-18.

Western Green Drake

Finally, the Western Green Drake is a special hatch with large mayflies in the size of 10-12 during the Spring through Summer. Within our Sierra Nevada, the Green Drakes are generally within the Sierra Tahoe region, particularly the Truckee and Feather River systems. Green Drake nymphs are crawlers and thrive in large cobbled substrates with moderate to fast-paced currents.

Prior to emergence, mature nymphs migrate toward slower riffles and runs where their availability to the trout increases exponentially because they are poor swimmers. They frequently become victims of catastrophic drift and become hearty meals for opportunistic trout. Their emergence begins underwater, then the crumpled-up dun floats to the surface to dry its wings and take flight. Morris May Emerger patterns fished on the swing or near the surface are deadly for imitating these rising duns.

Morris May Emerger Baetis

Hook	Daiichi 1130 #16-20
Thread	Uni-thread Olive 8/0
Body	Chocolate Brown Rabbit Dubbing
Thorax	Olive Superfine Dubbing
Tail	Partridge fibers
Wing	Natural Dark Coastal Deer Hair
Ribbing	Small Silver Wire

Morris May Emerger PMD

Hook	Daiichi 1130 #14-18
Thread	Uni-thread Pale Yellow 8/0
Body	Pheasant Tail
Thorax	PMD Superfine Dubbing
Tail	Pheasant Tail fibers
Wing	Bleached Coastal Deer Hair
Ribbing	Small Copper Wire

Morris May Emerger Green Drake

Hook	Firehole 316 #10-12
Thread	Uni-thread Green 8/0
Body	2 Olive and 1 Brown Ostrich Herl
Thorax	Olive Superfine Dubbing
Tail	Brown Hen Saddle
Wing	Natural Dark Coastal Deer Hair
Ribbing	Danville Yellow Flat-Waxed thread