Michigan Flies

Hatches / mayfly

Blue Quill

A

Neoleptophlebia adoptiva (formerly Paraleptophlebia adoptiva)

Also called Little Mahogany, Slate Wing Mahogany, Little Red Quill, Paraleptophlebia.

A small dark mayfly that comes off midday in the same late-April to mid-May window as the Hendrickson, and is often the reason trout ignore your #14 Hendrickson. Duns emerge slowly in slower water and eddies, so a #18 dark-bodied parachute or a mahogany emerger fished on the edges of the current is the play. The species runs sporadically into July; on the Boardman anglers report about six weeks of Blue Quills from mid-May. Fish a small dark Pheasant Tail before the hatch and a rusty spinner in the afternoon.

#16–18middayafternoonnymphemergerdunspinnerdark reddish-brown to mahogany bodyslate gray wingdark brown nymph

© alicia penney · CC BY · iNaturalist · Sydney, NS · 2021

Timing by region

  1. Southeast Lower Peninsula
    1. J
    2. F
    3. M
    4. A
    5. M
    6. J
    7. J
    8. A
    9. S
    10. O
    11. N
    12. D
    Window
    Apr 1 – Jun 24
    Peak
    Apr 17 – Apr 30
  2. Southwest Lower Peninsula
    1. J
    2. F
    3. M
    4. A
    5. M
    6. J
    7. J
    8. A
    9. S
    10. O
    11. N
    12. D
    Window
    Apr 5 – Jun 28
    Peak
    Apr 21 – May 4
  3. Northeast Lower Peninsula
    1. J
    2. F
    3. M
    4. A
    5. M
    6. J
    7. J
    8. A
    9. S
    10. O
    11. N
    12. D
    Window
    Apr 15 – Jul 8
    Peak
    May 1 – May 14
  4. Northwest Lower Peninsula
    1. J
    2. F
    3. M
    4. A
    5. M
    6. J
    7. J
    8. A
    9. S
    10. O
    11. N
    12. D
    Window
    Apr 15 – Jul 8
    Peak
    May 1 – May 14
  5. Upper Peninsula
    1. J
    2. F
    3. M
    4. A
    5. M
    6. J
    7. J
    8. A
    9. S
    10. O
    11. N
    12. D
    Window
    May 6 – Jul 29
    Peak
    May 22 – Jun 4

Flies that match

Pheasant Tail Nymph (reference photo)Reference photo
Pheasant Tail Nymph
A
Nymph#10–20NaturalBeadheadFlashback

Old Au Sable Fly Shop names a #12 to #14 Pheasant Tail as the Hendrickson nymph, and it covers every Michigan Ephemerella and Baetis nymph before and during a hatch. A beadhead #10 is a standard trailer fly in U.P. steelhead rigs, and #12 to #20 versions take pink salmon in clear water. Fish it dead-drifted under an indicator or on a tight line in the weeks before each mayfly hatch.

Indicator nymphing · Euro / tight-line nymphing

Reserve · $2.75
Borchers Parachute (reference photo)Reference photo
Borchers Parachute
A
Dry fly#10–16Dark turkey-quill body, brown hackle

Grayling's dark all-purpose mayfly, listed by Hawkins in #10 to #16 for Mahogany and Isonychia spinners. It doubles as a Hendrickson and Black Quill dun in spring and a fall Mahogany Dun on the Pere Marquette from mid September through October. Fish it at dusk for Iso spinner falls from June through September.

Dry fly

Reserve · $3.00
Adams (and Parachute Adams) (reference photo)Reference photo
Adams (and Parachute Adams)
A
Dry fly#10–20Gray (standard)Slim-bodied #10-12 for Gray Drake

Michigan's own fly, born on the Boardman, and still the default searching dry on every river in the state. Hawkins recommends a slim-tied #10 to #12 Adams for Gray Drake spinner falls at dusk on the Pere Marquette and Muskegon, and smaller sizes pass for most gray-winged mayflies from April through October.

Dry fly

Reserve · $3.00
Blue Quill Parachute (reference photo)Reference photo
Blue Quill Parachute
A
Dry fly#16–18Dark mahogany body, slate wing

Matches the Little Mahogany (Neoleptophlebia adoptiva), a #16 to #18 mayfly that emerges midday once water has held above 50 F for a few days, from mid April into early July with a peak in the first half of May. Fish it in slower edges and eddies alongside the Hendrickson, since the two overlap on the Au Sable and Manistee.

Dry fly

Reserve · $3.00