I should note here that these often subtle changes in a trout's feeding behavior are much more common to mayflies than when other insects (caddisflies and stoneflies) are the food of choice. The reason for this I think, it that the life cycle of the mayfly is more complex than that of the other main aquatic insects. Mayflies have more "stages" than do these other bugs so there are more situations that you need to be aware of.

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For many years, I carried a small aquarium net in the back of my vest. If you are going to try to fool a trout, it is a very good idea to know what "fish food" is available to the fish in the particular section of the stream you plan to fish. By simply sitting by the edge and carefully watching the surface, you will start to see what is available to the fish. However, as most food a trout takes is underwater, you will need to know "what's down there?" That is where the net comes in. Simply hold it on the bottom and start turning over rocks and moving the gravel around. Shortly, you will know what the fish have available subsurface. Once you know a little entomology and can identify what you have found, you are well on the way to fooling a fish. Here is a video to demonstrate..."Match the Hatch"  by Ken Tanaka of Wish4Fish.

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I have been very fortunate to have friends that even know all of the Latin names of these bugs. I will share some of that information here. I will do my best to keep the Latin to a minimum.