The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning
The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning
Quill Gordon, Blue Wing Olive, Callibaetis and 10 others
Easy - 1-3 Min
Coldwater
This is really a simple pattern and as with most simple patterns, the room to variate is large. Mixing and matching colors and hook sizes can yield all mayfly species easily with this pattern. Using CDC or Mcflylon for the wing post also yields interesting variations worth exploring.
This fly is simple to tie and has an excellent profile on the water. This gives it the ability to fool fish on many kinds of waters and with the speed you can tie these in with practice, you can mix and match colors and hook sizes to imitate nearly all mayflies. Refer to our entomology section below for all the hatches, sizes and colors for all the major mayfly species trout eat.
I really enjoy fishing this fly as a single dry fly and light tippet and an extended leader. This way the fly floats very naturally and drag free. On strong mayfly hatches or where trout easily rise to a dry fly, this fly is nothing short of deadly.
5x and 6x tippet help it float more drag free. Whatever your leader length, add another 18-24 inches of 5x or 6x on the end, this will cause the leader to transfer less power to the fly which causes the presentation to be softer and gentler as are most mayflies when they are on the water. The tippet buffers out the power and allows for additional slack just at the end of the tippet which helps it float more naturally as it floats over complex top currents. I’ve found this in conjunction with matching the hatch to size and color yields great results.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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
|
| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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
|
| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Region: West, Northwest, Midwest
Green Drake Sizes: #8 - #14
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Region: East
Green Drake Sizes: #8 - #14
|
| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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
|
| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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
|
| 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
|
| 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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| Regional Hatch Chart | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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.