Artificial fly
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An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure, usually used in the sport of fly fishing. In general, artificial flies are an imitation of aquatic insects that are natural food of the target fish species the fly fishers try to catch. Artificial flies are constructed by fly tying, in which furs, feathers, thread or any of very many other materials are tied onto a fish hook.
Classic 19th-century artificial fly – The Triumph
First known illustration of a fishing fly from 4th. edition (1652) of John Dennys's The Secrets of Angling, first published in 1613, probably the earliest poetical English treatise on Angling.,
Frontispiece from Bowlker's Art of Angling (1854) showing a variety of artificial flies
Illustration of a large Pike fly (1865)
Mayfly
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Mayflies are aquatic insects belonging to the order Ephemeroptera. This order is part of an ancient group of insects termed the Palaeoptera, which also contains dragonflies and damselflies. Over 3,000 species of mayfly are known worldwide, grouped into over 400 genera in 42 families.
Adult Atalophlebia with the cylindrical dorsal or turban eyes visible
Mayflies (known locally as shadflies) swarm briefly in enormous numbers in Ontario.
Rainbow trout are among the main predators of mayflies.