Mil Spec Loop Wing Emerger - Mayfly

This is another fly from the Mil Spec series that brings all the trout to the yard. When I originally started tying this style of fly, I was using thread and wire to make the abdomen, dubbing for the thorax, and snowshoe hare's foot fibers for the wing. This pattern is very similar in form, but I switched to all synthetic fibers because I could change the colors to match any mayfly that I was using, and I could tie it much faster. The simplicity of this fly is kind of why I like it so much. Not only does it do a great job of looking helpless on top of the water, I can also tie these in about 3 to 4 minutes each.

When I fish this fly I really like to use a floatant that will bind itself to the materials that I use. Loon Lochsa is really good at floating basically whatever you squeeze it onto, and Loon Payette Paste is kind of an unusual solid floatant that you can kind of mash into the thorax and wing of this fly to keep it riding high for a longer period of time. Or... You can just be like Curtis and use bacon grease as your floatant. At the end of the day it's really just up to you...

~ Cheech