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BWO or Baetis

Blue Wing Olive hatches are one of the most consistent and important mayfly hatches for trout, especially in spring and fall.

Best Flies for the Blue Wing Olive (BWO) Hatch

Best time: Overcast days, late morning to afternoon
Season: Spring and fall (can occur year-round)
Water: Slow to moderate currents, tailwaters, spring creeks
Trout behavior: Selective feeding on small mayflies and emergers

Match your fly to trout behavior—dry flies for surface feeding, emergers for selective fish, and nymphs when trout are feeding below.

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    Mercury Flashback Pheasant Tail

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    Your all-time favorite pattern with a bead that imitates the gas bubble nymphs ride to the top. This one will quickly be one of your must-haves. ...

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    Mighty Baetis

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    BWO's hatch virtually year around. They are a major workhorse in trout fly fishing. The black bead puts different movement and adds to the emergin...

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    Mole Fly - Mayfly Dry Fly

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    A super simplistic but effective dry fly pattern. Particularly useful during mayfly hatches when finicky trout are present.

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    Moonshine Mayfly - Beadhead

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    Ton of flash gives this fly an more emergance look to it. Rootbeer glass bead creates a nice head with a translucent look to it.  A great addition...

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    Missing Link Mercer's - Umpqua

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    The Missing Link is that fly that works even when when the hatch might be not quite as expected. You may have thought PMDs were going to pop today,...

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Blue Wing Olive (BWO) hatches often bring out selective trout, especially on pressured rivers and tailwaters. Matching size, profile, and presentation is usually the difference between refusals and eats. Most BWO fishing happens in sizes 16–20, with emergers outfishing dries when trout are feeding subtly in the film. Target softer seams, eddies, and slower edges during active hatches.

BWO hatches peak in spring and fall and are strongest during overcast or rainy weather. These mayflies can hatch multiple times a year and often produce longer, more consistent windows than other mayflies.

Trout key in on specific stages of the insect, so adjust your flies as their behavior shifts. Use dries when fish are rising confidently, switch to RS2s or emergers during subtle sips, and downsize if fish are refusing your presentation.

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