“Most low riding mayfly patterns are pretty high maintenance, not very durable, and hard to see. This fly solves all these problems. I’ve created a mostly synthetic mayfly that floats like a cork, is really tough, and has easy-to-see wings. This fly’s body sits lower in the water, giving the fish a better look at it. I’ve been tweaking this fly since the spring of ’15. I’m really happy with the finished product. It’s very similar to my Hippie Stomper, only more slender and mayfly oriented. It floats well enough to work in fast, choppy water, but also fishes well in slick water, to more selective fish. This fly started as a PMD but I’ve also been fishing this style fly in a few other generic colors, like Adams gray, red, purple, and Royal. As of 2020, Umpqua produces this pattern in Black, BWO, Green Drake, PMD, Purple, Red, in sizes 10-20 depending on the color.
One of this fly’s best proving sessions was on a small MT river, fishing to some fish that were selectively feeding on PMDs. I had a few refusals on other PMD patterns and then switched to this one and proceeded to catch fish after fish, while working my way upstream. I only needed the one User Friendly that I tied on as well, it was tough enough and buoyant enough to hold up to catching multiple fish. Another similar testing mission involved fishing the same purple User Friendly for a few hours of small stream fishing, one where dozens and dozens of small fish are more than willing to attack most any fly you throw at them. The one User Friendly held up well, floated, and caught fish the whole time.”
- Signture tyer Andrew Grillos
