BY GEORGE GRANT
Outdoors Columnist
Now that the days are short, crisp and often stormy, small dark flies dominate hatches. Even though a number of distinct mayfly species are involved, anglers tend to lump them all under a descriptive common name: Blue Winged Olive.
Duns of all the species involved are characterized by dark wings. They’re not flag blue or sky blue. They’re just a dull gray with a bluish cast. The ‘Olive’ part of the name is also rather imprecise. Body colors range from a fairly clear medium olive shade to a dull gray with a faint olive tint.
Fly bins in your favorite shop will hold a number of patterns that are near-enough or spot-on for the next few months. There will be several bins marked “Blue Winged Olive” or “BWO,” but their contents won’t cover all the possibilities.
In addition to BWO’s in sizes 16 through 20, you should include Adams and Blue Quills in the same size range.
Parachute style dries are especially useful in fall and winter. Newly emerged mayflies have to unfold their wings, fill the wing veins with fluid and wait for it to dry and harden before they can leave the surface. Seasonally cooler temperatures prolong that process and a flush floating parachute pattern perfectly mimics their situation.
The traditional white calf tail wing on parachute patterns doesn’t diminish their effectiveness. In fact, with the low light levels of an overcast sky, a white wing allows the angler to follow the drift of a small fly flush in the film with more precision.
The nymphs of most fall and winter flies are adequately imitated with an appropriately sized Pheasant Tail. The classic reddish brown and olive dyed patterns in sizes 14 through 20 are useful.
If you tie your own flies, a rather obscure pattern known as Cate’s Turkey has become my go-to nymph for most fall and winter situations. The pattern’s effectiveness is matched by its simplicity. What you’ll need:
Hook: Size 16-20 dry fly
Thread: Olive 8/0
Rib: Fine Copper Wire
Tail: Wood Duck Flank
Body: Twisted Turkey Tail Fibers
Thorax: Peacock Herl
Tie on, secure the rib and carry thread and rib back to the bend. Create a ball of thread and tie in a few wisps of Wood Duck so that the ball splays them slightly and cants them upward. Tie in the Turkey, twist it in hackle pliers and wind it forward over ¾ of the shank. Tie off and trim. Tie in a single strand of Peacock Herl from the “eyed” portion of the quill
and wind it forward to a point just short of the eye. Secure and trim. Wind the Copper Rib forward to the eye counter to the direction that the Turkey and Herl were wound. Secure
and break off the Rib and whip finish. Add a drop of head cement.
That’s Cate’s Turkey. Deadly and satisfyingly mystifying when someone, impressed with your constant hook-ups asks, “What are you using?”
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