The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning
The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning
Blue Wing Olive, Hendrickson, March Brown and 10 others
Medium - 3-5 Min
Coldwater
You can variate in color to imitate a variety of mayflies. Here’s a color guide to imitate the following mayflies:
In addition to making variations of mayflies, a couple fibers of mallard flank feathers over the top of the wing case can help add the appareance of a caddis emerger and fish seem to like this just as much for mayfly or caddis emergers. Since one or the other is happening throughout most summer days on trout rivers, you can see how this pattern preforms so well through the spring, summer and fall months.
The best part about this fly is the way it sits in the water. it’s incredibly accurate to a real mayfly that has just made it to the surface and is coming out of its shuck into the world above water. With relatively few materials, this is a budget-friendly and highly imitative fly to tie to imitate emerging mayflies. I’ve found with a couple mallard flank fibers out the top over the wing, it also looks like a great caddis emerger and fools a handful of trout that way too. It’s a tried and tested and proven pattern across the entire US and worth a spot in your box.
Since it’s an emerger pattern, it will only float above the surface for so long and then begin to sink. If the fish take it on the surface, apply dry fly duster to the body like “frogs fanny” and keep it afloat using it as often as needed. If it sinks and fish eat it, ditch the duster and just let it sink. Start with dusting it first, you can always submerge it and get it wet to get the duster off.
I prefer to fish this with a mayfly dry fly in front like a parachute adams and then use 18-24 inches of tippet that is one tippet strength smaller than whatever I have tied onto my dry fly. Then fish it like you would any dry fly, upstream presentation dead-drifted back to you.
If you find they are eating it as a sunken emerger, you can change the tippet out for flourocarbon and it will sink faster and easier and may help to get you more strikes.
| 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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| General Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Caddis Sizes: #10 - #22
|
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Region: West, Northwest, East, Southeast, Midwest
Hexegenia Sizes: #6 - #12
|
| 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, 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
October Caddis Sizes: #8 - #12
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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: East, Southeast
Quill Gordon Sizes: #12 - #16
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Copyright © 2003 – 2025 MidCurrent LLC, All Rights Reserved.