From the Tying Bench

Winter fishing is pretty much a crapshoot. Most December through February visits to the stream consist of repetitive nymphing casts with the occasional strike to relieve the tedium. When the nymphing is slow, fishing a streamer can produce a fish or two as well as alleviate the boredom engendered by unproductive nymphing. If the fishing gods are smiling, the water is not too high or discolored, and both the fish and the bugs are cooperative, cold weather midging can produce some exciting rises of trout.

The real change in the winter pattern occurs when the little mayflies of the genus Baetis begin to hatch in early- to mid-March. I have witnessed pioneers of the Blue-winged Olives (BWOs), as flyfishers call them, as early as Valentine's Day, and this year I saw a single Baetis dun numbly drifting on Spring Creek on 2 February. The month of March, however, is when the most significant hatches take place. Baetis mayflies can be seen at late as mid-April on area waters.

Baetis hatches strongly on most Central PA limestoners; they can be seen on Spring, Penn's, and Fishing Creeks, as well as on the Little Juniata River. Little BWOs also hatch again in late May , concurrent with Sulphurs and Cahills, and October and November emergences can trigger fast fishing, too. Baetis is very nearly a year round mayfly.

How the trout react to the little BWOs depends on the weather and water conditions. Late spring and autumn Baetis hatches usually mean excellent angling. March weather, though, is notoriously capricious, and balmy spring conditions one day can be replaced by a blizzard the next. I have, however, witnessed tremendous rises of fish to Baetis duns during cold, high water conditions that appeared more suitable for wormdunking than flyfishing. After a winter spent eating #26-28 midges, the trout seem delighted to have a more substantial food form to target.

In an era when many imitative patterns feature CDC wings and quill bodies, as well as assorted eyeballs, shucks, and antennae, I unabashedly admit to being a throwback. I favor solid, durable, easy-to-tie flies that cause no tears when left on a rock or hung high in a streamside branch. Fortunately for me, the trout have agreed with my simple choices for several decades.


Baetis Nymph

Baetis nymphs are slender, and patterns to imitate them should reflect this characteristic. Perhaps that's why a Pheasant Tail, a fairly skinny fly when tied well, is often used to suggest a Blue-winged Olive nymph. I prefer the added durability of a dubbed body, since Pheasant Tails seem to get chewed up quickly, whether ribbed or not. I also find Baetis nymphs to be considerably darker than a natural pheasant tail in color.

I usually fish unweighted Baetis nymphs. Even .010" lead wire tends to bulk up the fly too much, and the amount of weight that can be built into a #18, 1XL nymph is almost trivial. Then too, an unweighted nymph can be fished in or just under the surface film to fool tough risers.

Although trout tend to rise well to Baetis duns, I sometimes fish a nymph right through the hatch. Often, better fish that are reluctant to rise hug the bottom and intercept the nymphs rising from the substrate. A BWO nymph makes an excellent prospecting pattern during low water conditions. Finally, since the Baetis hatch is imminent, the nymphs are more active, and the trout are becoming accustomed to feeding on them. Standard upstream, dead-drift nymphing techniques are the way to present them.

* Hook:TMC #3761, #18


* Thread: 6/0 olive unweighted, 6/0 light olive weighted


* Tails:Olive-dyed mallard flank fibers


* Abdomen: Dubbing blend of 40% dark brown rabbit (Hare-line #24), 40% black rabbit (Hare-line #7), and 20% olive sparkle yarn.


* Legs:Olive-dyed mallard flank fibers, tied beard style


* Wingcase:Black-dyed turkey quill segment


* Thorax: Same as abdomen


* Note: Remember to keep this pattern slender.

Baetis Nymph



Baetis Emerger

My reading of the angling literature indicates that Swisher and Richards introduced the term "emerger" in their seminal work, Selective Trout. Their use of emerger was restricted to a nymph at that stage when its wings were just bursting from the wingcase. By the early 21st Century, in the typical fashion of flyfishing , emerger has come to mean just about any fly that is fished in or near the surface film, and even some fished far below it. Out of deference to Swisher and Richards, and because of my long and very productive fishing of their original ties, I use emerger in the more narrow sense they intended.

The addition of a short, emergent wing to a nymph might appear a small, insignificant thing, but it does seem to impress the fish, the ultimate arbiters for me. Swisher and Richards suggested a variety of materials for emerger wings, including quill sections, hen hackle tips, and fur. After much experimentation, I settled on a short tuft of muskrat fur for its economy, durability, and action. The muskrat wing traps air bubbles and shimmies. Best of all, it catches fish.

Fish a Baetis emerger during the hatch. Although trout typically rise well to BWO duns, there are usually fish that bulge to the nymphs in the film. These are the fish to target with an emerger. A microshot will sink the fly just under the film where the fish want to see it, and a small sleeve-type indicator helps detect subtle takes.

I have also found the pattern will often catch difficult fish in tough lies. Apparently, microdrag on an emerger is not as detrimental to angling success as it is on a dry fly. Finally, an emerger (or a nymph for that matter) can be hung from a dun imitation for tandem fishing.

* Hook:TMC #3761, #18


* Thread: 6/0 olive


* Tails:Olive-dyed mallard flank fibers


* Abdomen: Dubbing blend of 40% dark brown rabbit (Hare-line #24), 40% black rabbit (Hare-line #7), and 20% olive sparkle yarn.


* Legs:Olive-dyed mallard flank fibers, tied beard style


* Wing:Short tuft of muskrat fur. The tips of the fur are tied in, and the base of the fur is exposed.


* Thorax: Same as abdomen

Baetis Nymph



Duns


After a winter peering intently and mostly futilely for a #26-28 Dun/Black Midge at the end of 6X tippet, the first heavy hatch of Blue-winged Olive duns is really a sight for these tired, old eyes. Compared to a midge, a Baetis dun is huge. Spring Baetis duns are matched by a #18 hook, while during the rest of the year, #20 dries are more appropriate.

Wings on the Baetis duns are medium to fairly dark gray, and this can make them a little tough to see on the water, especially on dreary, overcast days. The wings also appear long in comparison to the body. The body is brownish olive on top, but the belly, the part the trout actually see, is medium olive. Patterns to match the Baetis duns should, of course, match the belly of the dun, not the back. BWO duns have two tails, a trait that makes them easy to separate from Parapletophlebia (Blue Quill) duns, with which they may overlap at the end of their spring emergence.

March BWO duns hatch in the early afternoon from gently riffled water, and because of the generally cold conditions during which they emerge, they will frequently drift into flat water until their wings are sufficiently dry to allow them to fly. As a consequence, flush-floating patterns seem to work best. A comparadun is my first choice to match the hatch, since it floats well, is durable and rugged, takes fish consistently, and is easy and economical to tie.

Blue-winged Olive Comparadun


* Hook:Daiichi #1180, #18


* Thread:8/0 or 14/0 olive


* Wing:FFP medium dun prime elk hair, splayed around the top half of the hook


* Tail: Medium to dark dun hackle fibers


* Body:Medium olive dubbing-Fly-Rite #15 or Wapsi olive Beaver Dubbing


* Note:For step-by-step instructions for tying comparaduns, consult the site archives.

Baetis Comparadun


Another productive pattern to fool Baetis sippers is a parachute. The clean wing outline makes the fly quite visible, a real plus when fishing a small, relatively drab fly. To further enhance the visibility of the parachute tie, lighter wing materials can be used.

Parachute Blue-winged Olive


* Hook:Daiichi #1180, #18


* Thread:8/0 or 14/0 olive


* Wing:A post of gray or smoke Neer Hair. Hi Vis, a very similar material, also works well.


* Tail: Medium to dark dun hackle fibers


* Body:Medium olive dubbing-Fly-Rite #15 or Wapsi olive Beaver Dubbing


* Hackle:Medium to dark dun, tied parachute

Baetis Parachute


If a fairly good fish refuses a comparadun or parachute, I will tie on a cut-wing, thorax dry. This style, originated by the late Vince Marinaro, is perhaps the most realistic imitative mayfly matcher ever created. If the fish turns up his nose at this one, tip your cap, and move on to the next riser!

* Hook:Daiichi #1180, #18


* Thread:8/0 or 14/0 olive


* Wing:Cut or burned from medium to dark blue dun Metz flank feathers, mounted just forward of mid-shank.


* Tail: Medium to dark dun hackle fibers split


* Body:Medium olive dubbing-Fly-Rite #15 or Wapsi olive Beaver Dubbing


* Hackle:Medium to dark blue dun, wrapped behind the wings and forward over the thorax. Trim the hackle on the bottom.

Baetis Nymph


Fishing a fine Baetis hatch signals the end of winter, even if the calendar indicates the season still has weeks to run. The trout seem to feel the same way and often cooperate by rising well to the duns. There are, however, complicating factors to consider.

First, fishing pressure has increased dramatically, even during late winter. The same fish that gulped BWO duns greedily the first few days the hatch was on the water become educated quickly. Better fish often ignore the Baetis duns and focus on the nymphs and emerging nymphs. More times than I care to recount, I have done far better fishing nymphs during the Baetis hatch rather than dries. Even when fishing the duns has been good, I have caught more and larger trout by switching back to nymphs and emergers. It should be relatively easy to tell whether a trout is eating BWO duns or not, since the duns have upright wings. If dun after dun drifts over a rising fish without being eaten, try a nymph or emerger in the film.

Second, midges continue to hatch during the Baetis emergence. The trout have eaten Diptera for months, and they do not stop just because the Blue-winged Olives have begun. As anglers, we tend to focus myopically on the largest food form available, but the trout have no such shortsightedness. If the fish reject your dun patterns, look at the water carefully for midges. Flexibility and adaptability is essential to trout survival. It is also the key to angler success.

Baetis Spinner

Baetis spinners exhibit a unique egg-laying behavior that makes them less important to anglers than the nymph and dun stages. The females crawl underwater to lay their eggs, rather than dropping them off from the air or the surface of the water. There may be some wet fly possibilities inherent in this trait, but I have to admit to ignorance of them. By the time the Baetis hatch is winding down in the afternoon, I have usually caught enough fish to make it a good day. A #20 rusty spinner tied on olive thread will match the BWO spinner, if necessary.

Summary

I remember my first experience with a March Baetis hatch like it was yesterday. It was almost 35 years ago, when I was still a student at Penn State. I was fishing at the Paradise and saw an emergence of BWO duns that was incredible. Because the water quality on lower Spring Creek in those days was wretched due to sewerage, mayfly hatches were very unusual. I had no matching flies, and the trout refused every pattern in my box, even the midges that they had eaten all winter. I tied Baetis matchers that night and have never been without them since.

2004 featured the best March Baetis hatch on Spring Creek in my more than 30 years fishing it. For six weeks BWOs hatched every afternoon in profusion. It will be interesting to see how the extraordinarily high water of summer and autumn, 2004 will impact this year's hatch. Early observations look very promising, since there have been sparse, but fishable, BWO hatches in mid-February. The time to put Blue-winged Olive patterns in your fly box is now!

Steve Sywensky