Best BWO Nymphs
Despite it snowing for April Fool's Day, Spring has pretty much sprung and Spring in the Rockies means Blue Winged Olives are hatching somewhere. I know I talked about them about a month ago, but they are hatching in abundance right now so it's time to get out there. BWO fishing is some of the most enjoyable of the year but sometimes it is limited to a couple of hours a day during the hatch if you just fish dry flies. While I love to toss the BWO dry flies when the fish are rising, I also like to extend my fishing days a little longer by fishing my favorite BWO nymphs before and after hatches. Here's a rundown of some of the best nymphs to imitate Spring blue wings:
1. The Barr's Emerger is one of the very best imitations of a Blue Wing Olive or baetis nymph available. Use the bead head version to get down deep or the standard unweighted Barr Emerger a little higher in the water column when the hatch is approaching.
2. The Ghost Nymph in size 18 and 20 in both the gray and black colors is a killer on many Western tailwaters and will probably pay off in many other tailwater and spring creek fisheries around the world. Fish these on light tippet with some weight to get them deep or as droppers when BWOs are close to hatching.
3. The Micro Mayfly nymph in both olive and brown is a fantastic imitator of baetis and BWO nymphs. The bead head makes it a great choice to fish as a dropper when fish are in relatively shallow water.
4. The Pheasant Tail nymph has been around for forever but it still continues to produce in streams with good populations of Blue Winged Olives. Fish the smaller sizes like 18s and 20s to best match most species of BWO nymphs.
5. The RS2 is a killer Blue Winged Olive nymph that works especially well on picky fish that have seen lots of other patterns. Fish both the olive and gray colors in all sizes (16-20).
6. The WD40 is a great imitation of a hatching Blue Winged Olive. It works great anytime that the hatch is going on and can be fished deep or up higher as well.
7. The Zebra Midge wasn't designed to be fished as a Blue Winged Olive (the name pretty much tells you that), but it works great when BWOs get close to the hatching stage. The darker colors like black and brown are particularly effective and the tungsten head option is a good one for getting this nymph down deep a long time before the hatch or the longer after the hatch that you fish.
I hope you can make a little time to get out there this week and fish hard. This is one of those times that you don't want to miss.