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St. Vrain Angler Fly Of The Month April, 2004: our fly of the month is the BWO - blue
winged olive, beatis, little gray mayfly or whatever else you'd like to call
this critter. Little, dark mayflies will be
Emergence: Little Blue Winged Olives will emerge best on overcast days. While you will see bugs on clear days, they don't seem to like bright sunlight much at all. If you have the chance to head out on a day that is overcast and included light snow or rain, do so as it will be one of the finest dry fly fishing days you might have all year long! The life cycle of the small BWO's is about six months. The eggs that were laid last fall are the ones that have resulted in the emergences we'll see now, in April. After the eggs hatch, the little bugs hide among rocks on the bottom of the streams, eating and growing, waiting to emerge so they can mate, lay their eggs and continue the cycle. When the nymphs are immature, they range in color from a dark brown to a light, creamy olive. This apparently depends on the habitat they inhabit. In all cases, however, as the bugs get ready to emerge, the wing cases get very dark giving the nymphs an appearance of being black. When they emerge, the bugs swim to the surface of the water, break through the meniscus, climb out of their nymphal shuck, and then float along on the surface of the water while their wings dry. Then, they fly off into the bushes, molt into sexually mature adults, then fly back over the riffles to mate, lay their eggs and die. All stages of the insect fish well. Small, dark nymphs such as pheasant tails, one feather flies and so on will imitate the maturing nymphs. A fly with a flash back is particularly useful as the flash appears much darker. Small soft hackles, wet flies and other nymph patterns fished just under the surface film will work well when trout are feeding upon the emerging bugs before they get through the meniscus. Floating emergers such as RS2, spotlight, budding emergers and so on will fish very well in the film to imitate the bugs as they climb out of their shucks. Standard adult dry flies such as traditional Blue Winged Olive, Blue Quill, Olive Quill, and thorax or parachute dries will work well to imitate the bugs as they float along the surface, drying their wings. Small, thin olive spinner flies will work toward the end of the day as they bugs die on the water. Fishing Tips: First, don't leave home without a good selection of BWO imitations. Be sure you have floatant, 5- and 6X tippet material, your polarized sunglasses, and warm clothes. Upon arriving on the stream, I begin by looking for rising fish. It only takes one, and I'm rigging up with a dry fly or emerger because I like watching the fish take the fly from the surface. The visual aspect of fly fishing is delightful, for me. Nymphs: If you don't find rising trout, rig for nymphing. Go to the tail of a riffle, where it enters a run. Watch closely and you'll likely see fish flashing as they eat nymphs near the bottom of the streambed. The nymphs are crawling out from under rocks as they prepare to let go, swim to the surface and emerge. The fish will follow the emergence. To either a 7.5' or 9' leader that tapers to either 4- or 5X, attach about 18 inches of 5X tippet material. Put a small bit of lead at the knot, and tie on a size #18-20 flashback pheasant tail nymph. If you want to try two nymphs, to this add a one-feather fly that is a little lighter in shade. Be sure you have enough weight to get the fly on the bottom. One of the keys to nymph fishing is knowing where the fly is. In the beginning, make short casts to a specific spot and follow the float of the fly downstream. Stay in contact with the fly. If the tippet jumps, a fish has taken the fly. Emergers: As the bugs move toward the surface, the fish will follow them. At first you may see bulges on the surface as trout take the emerging nymphs. Then, you'll begin to see snouts, dorsal fins and/or tails as the fish roll on the bugs. Remove the weight from your tippet, and check the line to be sure there is not a nick of any sort. Remove the nymphs, and tie on a soft hackle or wet fly. If you'd like to fish two flies, add about 16 inches of 5X tippet and attach the flashback nymph to it. About 3 feet above the top fly, put a small ball of Bio Strike. Look for rolling or rising fish, and cast your line so the fly lands about one or two feet above where the fish is rising, allowing the fly to drift back in the current seam that is bringing the food to the fish. If you know your fly is about there and you see the fish roll, gently lift the rod to set the hook. Otherwise, wait until you see the Bio Strike move, and then lift the rod to set the hook. Adults: When the fish leave a bubble on the surface in the rise form, they are taking adult insects from the surface film. If you observe closely, you'll see the small bugs disappear into the mouth of a hungry trout! This is fun. Remove the other fly/flies and the Bio Strike. Check the leader and tippet setup again to be sure there are not casting knots or nicks. If you stay with 5X tippet, which is my choice, use a piece that is at least three feet long, if not longer. Tie on your choice of adult imitation and once again cast above the position the fish is rising, allowing the fly to drift into the fish's line of vision. Spinners: Very gentle dimples on the surface of the water near the end of the day indicate the trout are eating spinners. The bugs are not visible unless you look straight down on the water. They lie flush in the surface film and don't move. The fish know these dead bugs are a good source of nutrition, and will continue to feed upon them. Stay with the dry fly setup, but add another small ball of Bio Strike so you know where your fly is on the water. Setting the hook: The hook set is going to vary throughout the BWO fishing day. When nymphs are dead drifting near the bottom, takes will be subtle; as the bugs swim to the surface, the trout often chase the flies - just a short chase, as bugs are small - so the take may be more aggressive. When the bugs are climbing out of their cases, they are caught in the current and take will vary from delicate to aggressive, depending on the fish that is eating them, and the amount of motion the bugs make. Adults drift with the current and takes are generally delicate. Very slow, deliberate takes are true of fish feeding on spinners. Set the hook the way the fish takes the fly: if slow, gently lift the tip of the rod to tighten up on the fish as it turns down with the fly. If the take is aggressive, hit the fish with a quick, short setting motion, as though you were going to lift the rod for a quick, short cast. If the fish is not hooked, the hook set was either too slow, or too quick. Observe what works for you, and keep on doing it! Here are some bugs and fly imitations for your perusal. Enjoy!
This is a Blue Winged Olive Adult, freshly emerged. Note the opaque wings, which are steely-gray, and the dark body. When mayfly adults ride on the water they look like little sailboats with their wings creating the illusion of sails.
Here's a Blue Winged Olive mayfly as it emerges from its shuck. Note the dark head and wing pad at the bottom of the picture, and the case it is climbing out of, which is parallel to this page. It only took a moment for the bug to completely emerge from the shuck. It sat on the webbing, dried its wings and flew off. When the bugs are in this condition, the head and wing pad are often above the surface film, and the remainder of the body and shuck are under the surface, suspended. During an emergence, look into the water and you'll note lots of black shucks floating along in the water, or on the film. These are the remainders of the shucks from which the bugs have emerged. Life in motion!
This pattern is best fished in riffled water during an emergence of the bugs. It can be tied from a size #18-22 and has caught many, many trout!
Here's a type of Thorax Dry that imitates an emerging BWO. In this case, the tail is antron, which imitates the shuck coming off the back of the fly. The same type of material is used for this particular wing, making the fly more visible. Note that the collar hackle has been trimmed flat on the bottom, which allows the fly to float flush in the current. This particular pattern would work well when the bugs are in the process of emerging.
A parachute BWO imitation. Standard hackle tail, dubbed body, post made of grey poly/antron/parapost material, and hackle wound around the post. This pattern will also sit flush on the water, and is very popular with anglers.
Here's a spinner imitation. The tail is spade hackle, the wing poly. The abdomen of the fly is just thread, so it is very thin, and the thorax is dubbing. The fly will sit very flush in the surface film. When you fish these bugs, imagine how a dead bug would float along in the current, and be sure your fly does that. The fish will eat it.
That's about it for the BWO patterns this time. There are many, many other patterns. We have them in the shop and would be happy to help you learn to tie and to fish them. I hope this helps you understand the basics of fishing through a Blue Winged Olive emergence. If you have any questions, please contact me by calling the shop, or dropping me a line at angler@peakpeak.com Thanks for reading! Good fishing. |
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or call 303-651-6061 © St. Vrain Angler Stores, Inc. We wish you good fishing, fly tying and great fun throughout the year! |
emerging on many Colorado streams,
including most of the tailwater fisheries, throughout this month. They will be
one of the key food sources for hungry, greedy trout. While several sizes
(18-24) and
various colors will emerge, I'd suggest using a size #20, if
you are restricted to one size. Color will only matter when it matters. Even
though that sounds flippant, it is not. Most of the small mayflies we'll see
will be pretty dark on top, and a creamy olive on the bottom. Use what works for
you. Begin with a basic, medium olive and go from there. If you tie your own, be
creative, trying various adult imitations and colors.
Here's what a spinner looks like on the water. In this case, note that the
wings are still
opaque and gray, and that the body segmentations are full and clearly colored.
If this bug was actually a spinner - in this case, the bug got caught in the
foam line and could not escape - the wings would be clear and glassy-looking,
and the body would be thinner and more transparent, the colors darker.
These are Blue Winged Olive shucks that were gathered into an eddy on the Big
Thompson during a spring emergence. I don't know how many were in that foam
line, but many, many times as many as these in the hand. See how dark they are?
Note the few that are separate from the others, and see that they are
transparent. The one on the thumb shows the case, where the head and wings were,
and the tail shuck. Lovely!
