This week’s picture is brought to you by Joseph.
“Took a good 4 hours for anything to hit, but for this fattie, who cares?” - Olcott, New York

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The term Blue Winged Olive refers to small mayflies that generally have an olive body and blue-grey wings in the adult stage. In actuality, there are many many species of mayflies that fall into the BWO category and they can range from dark grey to light green in body and can have dark gray to light gray wings. Most though are olive or medium grey bodied with medium dun wings.

Springtime is known as BWO time on many waters. Hatches are most frequent from March to May and the most common sizes are 18 to 22. Here are a few of my favorite Spring Blue Winged Olive patterns:

1. Parachute blue winged olive - This classic BWO pattern rests low in the water to mimic a hatching insect but offers great visibility to the angler because of the visible parachute post.

2. Blue winged olive sparkle dun - This pattern utilizes a hair wing for good floatation and a z-lon tail to imitate the trailing shuck of a hatching BWO.

3. Blue winged olive bunny dun - The excellent floatation properties of rabbit fur combine with a realistically slim tapered profile to closely imitate adult BWOs.

4. Blue winged olive Barr’s emerger - This nymph and emerger imitates the BWO in mid hatch stage and is perfect to use the morning before a hatch and in the early stages of the hatch, or even as a dropper during the middle of the hatch.

5. The micro mayfly nymph - Both the olive and brown versions of this nymph are excellent imitators of the BWO nymph.

Get out on the water and cast some BWOs this Spring. Even though they are small, they hatch in abundance and get the fish and the fishermen excited.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Scott.
“Niagra Co, NY : 6 degree temp… 25mph wind… ICE!!!! -15 degree windchill!!! MONSTER STEELHEAD”

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Years ago there seemed to be an unwritten code of conduct that went along with outdoor sports like fly fishing. While there’s always been those that were difficult, most simply understood that out on the river you don’t get too close to fellow anglers, don’t jump in and fish in front of someone, and try to be, at least outwardly, very courteous upon meeting. Today, most of us have stories about discourteous encounters on the water; I know that I do. Although fly fishermen are far better than most others at sticking to etiquette, it doesn’t hurt to have a few reminders.

1. Always allow plenty of space. This amount of space will vary according to location. Some busy tailwaters may only require 50 to 100 yards and on some uncrowded streams you may want to allow 1/2 a mile or more. Be mindful to leave plenty of space on small streams where the other angler will have to cover more length of water to find the same number of fish they might find in a short length of a big river. If you’re in a boat, simply keep your distance.

2. Don’t hog holes. If you find a great pool or run it’s certainly OK to fish it hard but if others seem like they’d like to try it then move on. It can be frustrating when drifting a river to encounter someone who continually rows back up river to fish the same spot over and over forcing you to drift by them and not be able to fish the spot at all.

3. Allow the angler fishing upstream the right of way. This is an old notion, but one that we should all stick to. If you’re moving downstream as you fish and encounter someone, allow the angler working up to stay on the water and leap frog around him. This way once you’ve passed each other you’ll create distance faster as you fish away from each other.

4. Be very respectful of the river and it’s surroundings. Clean up, take care of your business in the right place, practice catch and release, and make as little negative impact on the resource as possible.

5. If you fish in a state that allows access on private property then do everything possible to protect fences, livestock, and property. Be respectful of high water marks and landowner wishes. Once again, take care of your business in the right place, not on someones property. It’s better to develop good relationships with landowners even when the law allows you to fish through.

Like it or not, we’re all representing all fly anglers in our conduct on the water. Let’s be cool to each other.

AnimatedKnots.com - is a great website to get step by step guide to tying perfect knots.

This was recommended to us by several of our readers so we thought we’d share it to everyone.

Thanks for the tip guys!

This week’s picture is brought to you by Darren.
“A Fat Rainbow taken in the winter in Silverthorne. Had me running down the river to keep from snapping off.” Sweet Catch!

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Occasionally I’ll talk with someone who loves fishing only one place or one time of year or day because that is a place or time where or when they are confident and more successful with a certain technique that they have developed. One of the great things about fly fishing is that it can bring satisfaction in so many ways and, when someone is satisfied with this scenario, I am pleased right along with them. However, some people in this situation only fish one place or time but really wish that they could fish lots of places and times and enjoy success. Here are a few tips for developing all around skills.

1. Research techniques, rigs, and flies. Sometimes an article, a DVD, or a chapter from a book can bring those “ah ha” moments. There’s also a wealth of info on the internet, like our repository of RiverBum tips on our blog, The Ripple. In researching and studying these sources of info you’ll often learn or notice something and won’t be able to wait to get on the water to try it out. Approach fly fishing research like you would approach school or professional development and you’ll have a higher likelihood of success.

2. Hire a guide to fish where or when you’d like to learn more. The kind of specific knowledge that guides develop and can teach you come from years of studying their craft and the locations they fish. These skills and knowledge can’t be acquired in any other way than by a guide imparting it to you on the water. Sometimes it just takes doing things a little bit differently, or fishing a size smaller fly, or approaching from a different angle, and, all of a sudden, you’ll have it.

3. Last but not least, experiment and practice. I actually learned to fish this way, basically by trial, error, and occasional success. I remember not being able to catch a single fish on what is now practically my home river for the first 5 or so trips I went there. I kept trying new things and eventually I started to get it and I started to catch fish. Make sure to try things that you aren’t comfortable doing, whether it is a new rig, new kinds of flies, or new techniques. You’ll be surprised how many fish you can catch doing things that seem out of the ordinary and then you’ll also surprise yourself with how fast a little practice and success can help you hone your new skills.

If you feel like you’re in a bit of a fly fishing rut then try these things to break out of it. You’ll be a more rounded and, best of all, a more successful angler.