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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Parachute Blue Wing Olive - Mayfly Dry Fly
$0.98Original price $1.09Original price $1.09 - Original price $1.09Original price $1.09$0.98 - $0.98Current price $0.98BWO is one of the most prolific and long lived hatches. This versatile color can also cover both the Pale Morning Dun and Pale Evening Dun. If you...
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Pheasant Tail-Beadhead
$0.99Original priceOriginal price $0.99 - Original price $0.99Original price$0.99 - $0.99Current price $0.99One of the top five trout nymphs ever tied on a tippet. A near perfect imitation of the blue wing olive nymph, also works great for a general mayf...
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Pheasant Tail - Tungsten
$1.22Original priceOriginal price $1.22 - Original price $1.22Original price$1.22 - $1.22Current price $1.22Take a beadhead Pheasant Tail and give it a heavier bead, and you have a faster sink rate, and slightly different action to foll even the wariest ...
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Pheasant Tail Emerger-Beadhead
$0.99Original priceOriginal price $0.99 - Original price $0.99Original price$0.99 - $0.99Current price $0.99An excellent pattern for imitating all sorts of emerging mayfly nymphs. Combines the attributes of the beadhead nymph with the attributes of an ...
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Parachute Blue Wing Olive Hi Vis - Mayfly Dry Fly
$0.98Original price $1.09Original price $1.09 - Original price $1.09Original price $1.09$0.98 - $0.98Current price $0.98One of the most prolific and long lived hatches. Hi Vis gives this fly extra visibility when the fly becomes tricky to see. This versatile co...
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Phlaming Pheasant Tail - Beadhead
$0.99Original priceOriginal price $0.99 - Original price $0.99Original price$0.99 - $0.99Current price $0.99Your 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 have's....
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Parachute Blue Wing Olive Blue Dun Post - Mayfly Dry Fly
$0.98Original price $1.09Original price $1.09 - Original price $1.09Original price $1.09$0.98 - $0.98Current price $0.98One of the most prolific and long lived hatches. Presented here with a blue dun post, to closer match the wing of the natural. If you have never f...
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Pheasant Tail UV-Beadhead
$0.99Original priceOriginal price $0.99 - Original price $0.99Original price$0.99 - $0.99Current price $0.99Lets face it fish like shiny stuff, it is often what attracts them in the first place. Pheasant Tail UV contains UV dubbing in the thorax that he...
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Pink Pheasant Tail - Beadhead
$0.99Original priceOriginal price $0.99 - Original price $0.99Original price$0.99 - $0.99Current price $0.99Designed as a mayfly pattern, the pink pheasant tail is meant to take that extra leap past the Egan's Frenchie in attraction. Pink and purple are ...
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Parachute BWO Quill Body - Mayfly Dry Fly
$0.89Original price $0.99Original price $0.99 - Original price $0.99Original price $0.99$0.89 - $0.89Current price $0.89Much like the Parachute Adams, the Parachute Blue Wing Olive has been around a long time. The Blue Wing Olive in particular is responsible for th...
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Pheasant Tail Cadillac-Beadhead
$0.99Original priceOriginal price $0.99 - Original price $0.99Original price$0.99 - $0.99Current price $0.99An import from New Zealand. A robust pheasant tail, with a full bodied silhouette. A great addition to your beadhead arsenal.
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Picky Eater Perdigon - Tugnsten - Umpqua (Barbless)
$4.29Original priceOriginal price $4.29 - Original price $4.29Original price$4.29 - $4.29Current price $4.29Proudly designed by a Big Y Customer and Hood River local. "This fly features a simple body design that helps it sink quickly and a natural CDC col...
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Parachute Extended Body BWO - Solitude - Mayfly Dry Fly
$2.37Original price $2.63Original price $2.63 - Original price $2.63Original price $2.63$2.37 - $2.37Current price $2.37This fantastic little dry fly for the pickiest trout. Soft and realistic, this is a proven winner. Customer requested, this one should have been i...
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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.