Easy Baetis Sbs

[bulltrout]

Easy Baetis (As tied by Andrew Burla)

 

Blue-Winged Olives (BWO's, Baetis) are the first and last hatches (outside of midges) that we see in any given fishing season. These small mayflies come off around the middle of April (sometimes earlier) and last into May (June most years). They return to the trout's menu in September/October as the season draws to a close. These insects are well known to hatch on dark, overcast days or in areas with permanent shade. Hatches are usually heavy and some days they will blanket the water surface.

 

This fly is exactly what its name says it is...easy. Any fly that's easy to tie, easy to fish, virtually bombproof and actually works well is worth a look. The Easy Baetis imitates the adult dun on the surface. It has a very low profile to suggest a spent egg laying female or a crippled dun. For a higher floating version, don't trim the bottom hackle as shown. I usually like to fish two of these in tandem by droppering the second one around 24" off the first one.

 

Materials

 

Hook: TMC 101 # 16-22

Thread: 8/0 Iron Gray

Tail: Dun Hackle Fibers

Abdomen/Thorax: Dark Olive Antron Dubbing

Wings: Light Dun Z-Lon

Hackle: Dun

 

Tying Steps

 

1. Attach tying thead.

 

2. Tie in some hackle fibers the same length as the hook shank for the tail.

 

3. At the 2/3 shank point, tie in a doubled over length of Z-Lon. Clip excess off on an angle to help taper the abdomen.

 

4. Stand the wing up by building up a base of thread to act as a "dam" in front of the wing.

 

5. Divide the Z-Lon into 2 equal parts and figure 8 twice in between the wings to separate.

 

6. Lightly dub a smooth tapered abdomen to the 1/2 shank point.

 

7. Tie in a properly sized hackle by the butt.

 

8. Lightly dub a smooth thoracic area.

 

9. Apply a small drop of head cement in between the two wings.

 

10. Wrap the hackle forward with approximately 5-6 turns of hackle and tie off at the head. Whip finish and clip thread.

[bulltrout]

11. Using a dubbing needle, comb out the tangles in the wings and then fan them out. Trim the wings to the same length as the hackle. Trim the hackle fibers on the bottom of the fly for a lower profile.

 

12. The finished Easy Baetis.

[jcochrane]

Thanks DBT! I'm going to tie up a bunch of these......

[lonefisher]

thats a sweet simple tie dbt thanks for the step by step

[Tako]

Looks like I need to buy some dun hackle. I've been looking to add some BWOs (rarely used pattern here). This looks like a fast one.