Hareline Mayfly Tails
Tails That Float Like the Real Thing
Mayfly Tails are what happens when someone finally figured out how to make synthetic tailing material that actually floats. These nylon fibers are treated with WaterShed, which means they repel water like a duck's back and keep your dry flies riding high where they belong—not sinking like your buddy's untreated hackle fibers.
Why WaterShed Treatment Matters
Regular synthetic fibers absorb water and drag your flies down faster than a poorly tied knot. WaterShed-treated fibers actively repel water, keeping your dry flies floating through multiple drifts without needing constant applications of floatant. The fibers are stiff enough to maintain their shape and spread, creating that classic mayfly tail silhouette that selective trout actually fall for.
Perfect For Tying
- Mayfly Dry Flies: The obvious choice—split tails that look and float like the real thing
- Dun Patterns: PMDs, Blue-Winged Olives, Pale Morning Duns, and every mayfly you can name
- Spinner Patterns: Spent wings and tails that sit flush in the surface film
- Parachute Patterns: Tails that balance the fly and keep it upright
- Comparadun Styles: No-hackle patterns where the tail does the floating work
- Antennae: Works equally well as antennae on terrestrial patterns
Tying Tips
Use them straight for classic split tails, or stack them for fuller, more visible tails on larger patterns. The stiffness means they'll maintain their spread without collapsing, and the WaterShed treatment means they'll keep floating long after natural materials would have given up.
Pro tip: These also work brilliantly as antennae on hoppers, beetles, and ants—anywhere you need stiff, visible fibers that won't absorb water.
Available in natural mayfly colors and a few "fish can't help but notice" options.