BirdTrout
Open the map
RS2
A emerger, tied #16–24, carried year round. It is tied against 7 named insects in this book — all year.
A sparse emerger tied on a standard dry or nymph hook in sizes 16–24 with grey 14/0 thread: two dun microfibbets split for the tail, a thin body of grey or olive superfine dubbing, and a short upright bud of grey CDC or Antron for the wing. It is a plain-looking fly that takes selective fish, and it works in the film on tailwaters and spring creeks through any Baetis or midge emergence. It is tied against the Blue-Winged Olive, Baetis spp., of March–May and September–November at 38 to 58 degrees; the Blue Quill, Paraleptophlebia adoptiva, in April and May at 44 to 56; the Mahogany Dun, Paraleptophlebia spp., in September and October at 45 to 58; the Pale Morning Dun, Ephemerella excrucians, in June and July at 50 to 65; and the midge, Chironomidae, all year at 33 to 75. Carried year-round for trout.
- #16–24Hook size
- emergerType
- AllSeason
- 7Hatches matched
What it looks like
A drawing, not a photograph, and not traced from one. Its proportions were read off 4 independent reference photographs of the pattern and written down as 6 measured characteristics — wing angle, tail length against the shank, how far a hackle fibre reaches — every one of which had to hold across more than one of them before it could be drawn. What survives across many photographs of a fly is the fly.
What it imitates
Each of these is the same hatch record the app's own panel reads, so a pattern recommended on a river card in the app is recommended for one of the insects below.
- Blue Quill Paraleptophlebia adoptiva · April–May · 44–56°F · #16–18
- Blue-Winged Olive Baetis spp. · March–May and September–November · 38–58°F · #16–22
- Midge Chironomidae · all year · 33–75°F · #18–24
- Large Blue-Winged Olive Drunella cornuta · May–June · 50–64°F · #14–16
- Little Sulphur Ephemerella dorothea · May–July · 50–62°F · #16–20
- Mahogany Dun Paraleptophlebia spp. · September–October · 45–58°F · #16–18
- Pale Morning Dun Ephemerella excrucians · June–July · 50–65°F · #14–18
It is also tagged for mayflies generally.
Tying recipe
In tying order. This dressing is the standard one — these patterns have been in the publicrecord for decades — and materials substitute freely: the proportions and the silhouette are the pattern, not the brand of dubbing.
| Hook | Standard dry or nymph hook, sizes 16–24 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Grey 14/0 |
| Tail | Two dun microfibbets, split |
| Body | Grey or olive superfine dubbing, thin |
| Wing / emerger bud | Grey CDC or Antron, short and upright |
When to fish it
The film, on tailwaters and spring creeks, in any Baetis or midge emergence. It is a bad-looking fly that catches selective fish.
Carried all year. The insects it matches are active all year, in water from 33°F to 75°F.
Target species
- Trout
Rivers it fishes well
Rivers with a page here that sit in the regions where the insects this pattern imitates are recorded. It is a claim about coverage, not a report of a fish caught.
- Au Sable River northern lower Michigan · July mean 72.1°F
- Catawba River the North Carolina mountains · July mean 76.7°F
- Jackson River the Virginia mountains · July mean 66.3°F
- Muskegon River northern lower Michigan · July mean 71.0°F
- Escanaba River the Upper Peninsula · July mean 68.3°F
- Saint Croix River northern Wisconsin · July mean 77.2°F
- Smith River the Virginia mountains · July mean 51.9°F
- Tygart Valley River the Virginia mountains · July mean 74.6°F
- Kalamazoo River southern lower Michigan · July mean 71.3°F
- Aaron Creek the North Carolina mountains · July mean 76.7°F
- Aaron Run the Virginia mountains · July mean 77.1°F
- Aarons Run the Virginia mountains · July mean 74.2°F
Related patterns
Same type of fly, or tied for the same insects.
- Sulphur Comparadun emerger · #14–20 — No hackle, sits in the film. What to tie on when duns are drifting past untouched.
- BWO Comparadun emerger · #18–22 — Flush-floating. Baetis emerge in the film and the fish know it.
- Parachute Adams dry fly · #12–20 — Universal mayfly dun imitation. Every angler carries these.
- Pheasant Tail Nymph nymph · #12–22 — The mayfly nymph. Beadhead or not, size 16, and half the trout in the world have eaten one.
- Cahill Comparadun emerger · #14–18 — No hackle, deer-hair wing, body in the film. What to change to when the fish start refusing the standing dun.