Sunset Baetis

[UC Steve]

P1040268.JPG (118.88 KiB) Viewed 5351 times

Hook: #12 Daiichi 1150

Thread: Camel Uni

Body: Copper tinsel over yellow floss -- I spread a drop of Hard Head on it to give the mylar tinsel more durability

Thorax: Dark peacock herl

Hackle: Plover wing covert

I like this one for meeting late evening red quills.

[Izaak]

Steve,

I like the material combination you have here, especially the yellow tips of the plover and the yellow floss peeking through the tinsel. Looks like a winner! How do you typically fish this fly?

Tom

[UC Steve]

Tom, on my homewater, the upper Columbia, I most often quarter, swing, dangle & lift -- downstream; often two nymphs on a cast. Though upstream & dead-drift as well. Whatever the situation seems to call for. This is one of my local staples, & it travels well. Good for western march browns too. I like it on June evenings when things are really dense & I want something with a bit more visibility to stand out in the crowd. I like the subtle 'squirm' the Daiichi 1150 gives the shape.

[DOUGSDEN]

Steve,
Wow! That's kinda sexy! I'll add this one to the list too! Keep'm coming!
Doug

[UC Steve]

Thanks Doug. You've given me a direction. What I've posted here so far are working flies, so, as my fotos are so crappy, I'll try to make up for it by only posting the ones that have proven themselves to be 'good baits'. (I'm a guide, so I spend a lot of time on the water experimenting & developing patterns to meet the water I fish. Not ashamed to say that I'm always looking to improve the fish count, & that's why I fish soft-hackles.) I'll let you know when the baits stop & the experiments start.

[letumgo]

NICE!!!

[Kelly L.]

I really like this one too. Lovely little pattern.

[Mataura mayfly]

I do like that Plover hackle. Very nice.
Have you tried the same pattern with smaller ribbing material, or tried twisting the flat tinsel into a rope? Would be an easy way to get variation in the pattern without changing things up too much and offer the fish a more subtle model in bright light conditions.......... just a thought...... not a recommendation!

[UC Steve]

Thanks for the creative suggestions, MM. Yes, I've tried it with a thinner rib of copper wire, but that made it unbaetislike, as I wanted to simulate the wide chestnut colored segments we see on some baetis, with the yellow being secondary. I really like the twisted rib idea & haven't tried it, though I will now. As so many of the baetis & other mayflies, as well as the smaller stoneflies, exhibit this coloration, it's a productive one. Now I'm thinking the twisted rib, wound closer, might allow more yellow segments & still give the overall copper color I want. I'll try one that way.