BWO Catskill
Fly of the Month 10.11 Blue-Winged Olive (BWO) Catskill Dry
This “fly of the month” represents the latest in the Tim Wilhelm/Tom Adams series.
Blue-winged Olives! Positively rheotactic! Blue-winged Olives are not a large fly but their great numbers and the fact that they produce a number of generations each season make up for their size, which is rarely larger than 16 and usually smaller than 18. BWOs haven’t been mentioned much in angling literature until the middle of the last century, but with the changes in fishing seasons which allow the angler to fish more months of the year, they have become increasingly important. There are several species of BWOs in the family Baetidae and the proper imitation has saved many an angler’s day. These flies are frequently found during the morning and afternoon of cloudy rainy days. Besides the patterns Tom has presented a Parachute Adams or Comparadun of the appropriate size will also fool a fish that is taking BWOs. BWOs are small, the surface of smooth water is a barrier to them, and many are trapped just below the surface or must struggle to break through the water’s surface tension so emerging patterns work well. Both emergers and dry flies worked in slow runs and back eddies will raise fish but don’t forget to fish the foam lines. There typically isn’t much of a spinner fall with BWOs but the egg-laying female crawls below the surface to lay eggs and are often knocked loose. When nothing else appears to be working try a soft hackle works well here. Put a small shot on the leader and cast upstream, giving the fly time to reach the bottom. Then jig the rod to give the fly some action. Pheasant Tail Nymphs or a Gold-Ribbed Hares Ear work as imitations of the BWO. Dead-drift the fly in the water just downstream from a riffle. Which brings us back to positively rheotactic which, rather than an exclamation, is a term used by entomologists to describe how riffle species generally orient head first into the current.
Fly of the Month 10.11 Blue-Winged Olive (BWO) Catskill Dry
Hook: Tiemco 100 or equivalent – Size: 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24
Thread: Uni 8/0 Olive Dun
Wing: Lemon Wood Duck flank
Body: Blue Winged Olive dry fly dubbing, Beaver, Superfine
Tail: Medium Dun Spade Hackle fibers
Hackle: Natural Dun Rooster hackle
Directions :
1) Start the thread two or three eye lengths back from the eye. Wrap tight wraps to the hook bend above the barb and let the bobbin hang. Select a lemon wood duck feather and stroke the tips forward for alignment. Secure on top of the hook shank with the darker side of the hackle facing the hook eye and continue with several wraps toward the bend. Advance the thread to in front of the trapped feather and pull along the hook shaft pulling the barbs upright. Check the length and if satisfactory return the thread to behind the hackle tips. Make several turns toward the bend to secure the hackle and trim any waste. Bring the thread back to in front of the hackle in tight touching turns. Using a thumbnail, split the hackle into two even portions. Take the thread through the space between the hackle gathers and make a turn between to begin securing their position. Make two or three turns in an "x" to divide the hackle securely. With the thread behind the hackle wrap the base of the far side with two wraps making a firm bundle. Repeat on the side closest and begin the tail tie in.
2) Select eight or ten dun spade hackle fibers and after aligning the tips, pull them from the stem. This will keep the tips even for tying in. Measure the tailing so the amount after the bend is about one and one half the length of the shaft.
3) Tie in using a soft wrap and make sure the hackle is on the top of the shaft. Once you are pleased with the length advance the thread toward the eye in increasingly firm wraps. Trim excess length and return the thread in tight wraps to the bend where the tie in began. The last one or two turns should not be so tight as to make the tailing lift or stand up. Let the bobbin hang.
4) There is much discussion about the dubbing material and color and some tiers blend there on color. Go with a factory blend of high quality dry fly dubbing. The amount and method are the most important. Apply thread wax and twist on a very small amount of dub. Very tight and about two inches at the most. The abdomen will be tapered and the thorax somewhat larger, but, begin with a tiny amount of dub. Wrap dub in tight, butting wraps to the thorax. Let the bobbin hang.
5) Select a high quality, dry fly rooster hackle with barbs about one and one half the hook gape. This is critical, without over sizing, too large is better than too small. Strip the barbs from the stem leaving a one eighth inch bare stem to tie in with. One full wrap after the tie in is enough. Tie in with the shiny side toward the eye. Trim any excess stem. Advance the thread to the eye and let the bobbin hang.
6) Wrap the hackle forward in very tight, touching wraps. Four or five wraps. Bring the thread back to the last wrap and secure the hackle. Interweaving the thread through the barbs at a single point of the stem will prevent binding unwanted barbs in obtuse directions. Using two or three wraps of thread is sufficient at this point. Trim the excess hackle. Clean up any unwanted barbs.
7) Advance the thread in firm wraps to one or two wraps before the eye. Return the thread in tight wraps to the hackle and whip finish. Ideally, there a tiny bit of shaft should still be visible when you are finished. Apply head cement.
- Tom Adams, Tim Wilhelm
This “fly of the month” represents the latest in the Tim Wilhelm/Tom Adams series.
Blue-winged Olives! Positively rheotactic! Blue-winged Olives are not a large fly but their great numbers and the fact that they produce a number of generations each season make up for their size, which is rarely larger than 16 and usually smaller than 18. BWOs haven’t been mentioned much in angling literature until the middle of the last century, but with the changes in fishing seasons which allow the angler to fish more months of the year, they have become increasingly important. There are several species of BWOs in the family Baetidae and the proper imitation has saved many an angler’s day. These flies are frequently found during the morning and afternoon of cloudy rainy days. Besides the patterns Tom has presented a Parachute Adams or Comparadun of the appropriate size will also fool a fish that is taking BWOs. BWOs are small, the surface of smooth water is a barrier to them, and many are trapped just below the surface or must struggle to break through the water’s surface tension so emerging patterns work well. Both emergers and dry flies worked in slow runs and back eddies will raise fish but don’t forget to fish the foam lines. There typically isn’t much of a spinner fall with BWOs but the egg-laying female crawls below the surface to lay eggs and are often knocked loose. When nothing else appears to be working try a soft hackle works well here. Put a small shot on the leader and cast upstream, giving the fly time to reach the bottom. Then jig the rod to give the fly some action. Pheasant Tail Nymphs or a Gold-Ribbed Hares Ear work as imitations of the BWO. Dead-drift the fly in the water just downstream from a riffle. Which brings us back to positively rheotactic which, rather than an exclamation, is a term used by entomologists to describe how riffle species generally orient head first into the current.
Fly of the Month 10.11 Blue-Winged Olive (BWO) Catskill Dry
Hook: Tiemco 100 or equivalent – Size: 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24
Thread: Uni 8/0 Olive Dun
Wing: Lemon Wood Duck flank
Body: Blue Winged Olive dry fly dubbing, Beaver, Superfine
Tail: Medium Dun Spade Hackle fibers
Hackle: Natural Dun Rooster hackle
Directions :
1) Start the thread two or three eye lengths back from the eye. Wrap tight wraps to the hook bend above the barb and let the bobbin hang. Select a lemon wood duck feather and stroke the tips forward for alignment. Secure on top of the hook shank with the darker side of the hackle facing the hook eye and continue with several wraps toward the bend. Advance the thread to in front of the trapped feather and pull along the hook shaft pulling the barbs upright. Check the length and if satisfactory return the thread to behind the hackle tips. Make several turns toward the bend to secure the hackle and trim any waste. Bring the thread back to in front of the hackle in tight touching turns. Using a thumbnail, split the hackle into two even portions. Take the thread through the space between the hackle gathers and make a turn between to begin securing their position. Make two or three turns in an "x" to divide the hackle securely. With the thread behind the hackle wrap the base of the far side with two wraps making a firm bundle. Repeat on the side closest and begin the tail tie in.
2) Select eight or ten dun spade hackle fibers and after aligning the tips, pull them from the stem. This will keep the tips even for tying in. Measure the tailing so the amount after the bend is about one and one half the length of the shaft.
3) Tie in using a soft wrap and make sure the hackle is on the top of the shaft. Once you are pleased with the length advance the thread toward the eye in increasingly firm wraps. Trim excess length and return the thread in tight wraps to the bend where the tie in began. The last one or two turns should not be so tight as to make the tailing lift or stand up. Let the bobbin hang.
4) There is much discussion about the dubbing material and color and some tiers blend there on color. Go with a factory blend of high quality dry fly dubbing. The amount and method are the most important. Apply thread wax and twist on a very small amount of dub. Very tight and about two inches at the most. The abdomen will be tapered and the thorax somewhat larger, but, begin with a tiny amount of dub. Wrap dub in tight, butting wraps to the thorax. Let the bobbin hang.
5) Select a high quality, dry fly rooster hackle with barbs about one and one half the hook gape. This is critical, without over sizing, too large is better than too small. Strip the barbs from the stem leaving a one eighth inch bare stem to tie in with. One full wrap after the tie in is enough. Tie in with the shiny side toward the eye. Trim any excess stem. Advance the thread to the eye and let the bobbin hang.
6) Wrap the hackle forward in very tight, touching wraps. Four or five wraps. Bring the thread back to the last wrap and secure the hackle. Interweaving the thread through the barbs at a single point of the stem will prevent binding unwanted barbs in obtuse directions. Using two or three wraps of thread is sufficient at this point. Trim the excess hackle. Clean up any unwanted barbs.
7) Advance the thread in firm wraps to one or two wraps before the eye. Return the thread in tight wraps to the hackle and whip finish. Ideally, there a tiny bit of shaft should still be visible when you are finished. Apply head cement.
- Tom Adams, Tim Wilhelm