The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning
The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning
Blue Wing Olive, Callibaetis, Green Drake and 8 others
Medium - 3-5 Min
Coldwater
The RS2 can be varied quite a bit and all of these variations have reputations for catching a lot of fish. Swap out the standard white emerger wing for some flash to make a sparklewing RS2 or simply add a bead to get things down in the water column a bit more.
The Mercury RS2 is a really fantastic fly that closely imitates the emerging mayfly species. The simple glass bead at the head of the fly seems to take some fish that a simple RS2 wouldn’t. Be sure to have this fly in your pocket for a tried and true imitation that is different enough to turn some heads. Glass beads are an excellent way to variate on patterns such as RS2, zebra midges and pheasant tails. Insects often create an air bubble as they begin to emerge to help them get to the surface of the water. When fish see this, it indicates food and the glass bead is perfect in imitating this natural insect behavior. I don’t always fish RS2’s, but when I do, I make sure it has a mercury bead.
The Mercury RS2 can be fished as the dropper off of a dry or as the bottom fly on a nymph rig. Some fly tiers believe that the glass bead acts like the water bubbles insects ride up to the surface when they emerge; whether or not this is true is to be determined, but this fly sure catches a ton of fish when the mayflies are active. When fishing the Mercury RS2 on a nymph rig, be sure to allow your flies to “swing” at the end of your cast to better imitate the emerging dry flies.
| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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Region: West
Blue Wing Olive Sizes: #16 - #24
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Region: Northwest
Blue Wing Olive Sizes: #16 - #24
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Region: East
Blue Wing Olive Sizes: #16 - #24
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Region: Southeast
Blue Wing Olive Sizes: #16 - #24
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Region: Midwest
Blue Wing Olive Sizes: #16 - #24
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| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Region: West
Brown Drake Sizes: #10 - #14
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Region: Northwest
Brown Drake Sizes: #10 - #14
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Region: East
Brown Drake Sizes: #10 - #14
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Region: Midwest
Brown Drake Sizes: #10 - #14
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| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Region: West
Callibaetis Sizes: #12 - #18
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Region: Northwest
Callibaetis Sizes: #12 - #18
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Region: East
Callibaetis Sizes: #12 - #18
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Region: Midwest
Callibaetis Sizes: #12 - #18
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| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Region: West, Northwest, Midwest
Green Drake Sizes: #8 - #14
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Region: East
Green Drake Sizes: #8 - #14
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| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Region: East, Midwest
Hendrickson Sizes: #10 - #16
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| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Region: East
Isonychia Sizes: #12 - #18
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Region: Southeast
Isonychia Sizes: #12 - #18
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Region: Midwest
Isonychia Sizes: #12 - #18
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| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Region: East
Light Cahill Sizes: #12 - #20
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Region: Midwest
Light Cahill Sizes: #12 - #20
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Region: Northwest
Light Cahill Sizes: #12 - #20
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| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Region: West, Northwest
Mahogany Dun Sizes: #14 - #20
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Region: East, Midwest
Mahogany Dun Sizes: #14 - #20
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| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Region: West, East
March Brown Sizes: #10 - #14
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Region: Northwest
March Brown Sizes: #10 - #14
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Region: Midwest
March Brown Sizes: #10 - #14
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| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Region: West, Northwest, East, Southeast, Midwest
PMD Sizes: #14 - #20
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| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Region: West, Northwest
Trico Sizes: #18 - #26
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Region: East, Southeast, Midwest
Trico Sizes: #18 - #26
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Copyright © 2003 – 2025 MidCurrent LLC, All Rights Reserved.