The CDC Detached Body Mayfly

My friend Martin and I are fishing buddies who pay homage each year to a small mountain area in southern Norway. The only mayflies to be found there of interest to fly fishermen are Leptophlebia vespertina and Leptophlebia marginata; fortunately, these insects are in such great numbers that the fishing can be fantastic during a hatch, if your timing is right.

Our first day to the area last season was, to say the least, disappointing. No—disastrous! We were met by the worst weather imaginable and could only manage a couple hours of waving carbon. We retired to the fishing lodge and indulged in 12-year-aged Scottish culture, checking for the morning’s weather forecast and admiring the monster brown trout and moose trophies that adorned the walls of the lodge.

The next morning we were out and fishing at daybreak. The wind had dropped but there was still a light rain, and heavy black clouds hung low in the sky, hiding the nearby mountains.







We began fishing at lake Kattevald. This is one of the area’s most interesting spots. It’s essentially a large bay of lake Øktern that has been cut off from the main lake by floating mats of peat and grass that can be blown around in a strong wind, changing the layout of pools and smaller lakes. Walking on the mats is like walking on a large grass-covered water bed.

Martin began fishing with the fly that produced the most fish for him on our previous visit, a CDC Detached Body Mayfly, one of my patterns. It didn’t take long before I heard him shout “Fish on.” His 5-weight rod was bent in half as he tried to back his way out from the middle of a raft of floating peat. The fish managed to round this floating mat twice before Martin brought it to terra firma. The first Luksefjell-region brown trout of the year was in the net. It was a fish of no less than 600 grams (or about a pound and a half in avoirdupois weight).

Over the next few hours, we explored the other small lakes of the area, and the last part of the day produced several more trout up to, and just over, the kilo mark, most of which fought with just as much passion and determination as the first. Even though I had fished these lakes many times, I was still amazed by the sheer fighting power and strength of the fish—and by their willingness to take the CDC Detached Body Mayfly.

CDC Detached Body Mayfly

Hook: Mustad 94840 sizes 10 to 16
Body form: Upholsterers needle
Thread: Dyneema
Tail: Peccary or moose hair
Wing: Cul de canard
Body: Flyrite dubbing

This is an effective mayfly pattern that, with a little practice, fly tiers of any skill level can master. Read More »

Born in England, Barry Ord Clarke is a freelance photographer and writer who lives in Skien, Norway.



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