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The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning

The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning

Emerger

Biot Holy Grail Emerger

Insect Species Icon Quill Gordon, Blue Wing Olive, Hendrickson and 10 others
Difficulty Icon Medium - 5-7 Min
Water Category Icon Coldwater

Tying Video

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Tying Recipe
  • Hook: Nymph/ wetfly hook 1x long 2x wide size #14
  • Bead: Brass bead 5/23″ gold
  • Thread: UTC 70 denier olive
  • Tail: Hen saddle speckled brown
  • Body: Turkey biot brown
  • Rib: UNI soft wire small gold
  • Thorax: Wapsi all purpose rabbit dubbing natural hares mask
  • Wing case: Pheasant tail brown coated with clear thin UV resin
  • Wing: Hen saddle specked brown
  • Hook: Use any nymph hook that you like for any certain bug that you want to represent. Look at the naturals for reference to hook shank length.
  • Bead: Any tungsten or brass bead will work. Gold, copper or black are staple colors.
  • Thread: Any thin diameter thread will work. Go as thin as you are comfortable with, but try not to go thicker than 8/0 or 70 denier. Match the thread color with the thorax.
  • Tail: Pheasant tail fibers are a classic nymph tail, but for something with a little bit more strength, try Coq-de-Leon.
  • Body: If you have trouble with natural quills, synthetic quills are available at most fly fishing shops. You can also use d-rib or midge tubing for the same ribbing effect.
  • Rib: The rib in this fly is mainly for strength for the turkey quill, but any small round wire will work fine.
  • Thorax: Use any short fibered dubbing that you like. Squirrel and beaver can be excellent substitutes.
  • Wing case: Thin skin can replace pheasant tail for a stronger wing case.
  • Wing: Hungarian partridge feathers are great.

If fishing this fly in slower water, partridge feather is a great soft hackle substitute that is quite a bit more supple than hen saddle. This will allow the hackle to move and flow a bit better in slow water conditions. For a great body that is synthetic, d-rib or midge tubing can be a great way to get a rib effect with synthetic materials. Also magic quills are great for using the color of the thread for coloring the body of the fly, or even multi-colored bodies.

This is more of a mayfly emerger that stems from the original caddis holy grail emerger pattern. The soft hackle in front of the bead incorporates the bead into the fly, which gives it the shine of an air bubble, which nymphs need to rise to the surface to emerge into the adult form. This fly can be easily fished in any manner, whether swung or dead drifted, and in even slower water, sometimes stripped in.

Fish this fly like any standard nymph. This pattern is great below a dry fly during the summer time, where there are multiple bugs hatching at once. The soft hackle up in front makes this an easy fly to fish as well, as a perfectly dead drifted presentation is not needed. If fishing during a heavier hatch, consider swinging this fly a little at the end of the drift to see if a fish wants to give chase.

Blue Wing Olive

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: Northwest
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: East
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: Southeast
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: Midwest
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24

Brown Drake

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Northwest
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: East
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Midwest
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14

Caddis

General Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Caddis
Sizes: #10 - #22

Green Drake

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, Midwest
Green Drake
Sizes: #8 - #14
Region: East
Green Drake
Sizes: #8 - #14

Hendrickson

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East, Midwest
Hendrickson
Sizes: #10 - #16

Isonychia

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East
Isonychia
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: Southeast
Isonychia
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: Midwest
Isonychia
Sizes: #12 - #18

Light Cahill

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East
Light Cahill
Sizes: #12 - #20
Region: Midwest
Light Cahill
Sizes: #12 - #20
Region: Northwest
Light Cahill
Sizes: #12 - #20

Little Black Caddis

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West
Little Black Caddis
Sizes: #14 - #20
Region: Northwest
Little Black Caddis
Sizes: #14 - #20
Region: East, Midwest
Little Black Caddis
Sizes: #14 - #20
Region: Southeast
Little Black Caddis
Sizes: #14 - #20

Mahogany Dun

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest
Mahogany Dun
Sizes: #14 - #20
Region: East, Midwest
Mahogany Dun
Sizes: #14 - #20

March Brown

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, East
March Brown
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Northwest
March Brown
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Midwest
March Brown
Sizes: #10 - #14

October Caddis

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, East
October Caddis
Sizes: #8 - #12

PMD

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, East, Southeast, Midwest
PMD
Sizes: #14 - #20

Quill Gordon

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East, Southeast
Quill Gordon
Sizes: #12 - #16

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