Blue Winged Olive Dry Fly Tying Video

Tying the Blue Winged Olive Dry Fly

The Blue Winged Olive is a classic dry fly for fishing just about any trout stream in the country. The traditionally hackled style of tying is a great choice for riffled and faster moving water. The upright hackle tip wings of the Blue Winged Olive take some practice, but look great on the finished fly. Tie the Blue Winged Olive in sizes 14-22. Here in the Black Hills the most effective sizes are size 16-20. You can vary the body color of the Blue Winged Olive based on the time of year. In early spring the olives tend to be a darker olive, by summer the fly is smaller and a brighter shade of olive, and finally in fall the Baetis trend more towards a grey olive. Despite not having a fancy parachute hackle, loop wing, CDC, etc. this classic style of tying still produces quite well. Be sure to have this in your fly box if you are fishing choppy water where a high riding fly is essential.

Blue Winged Olive Materials

Purchase materials for the Blue Winged Olive

• Hook: Daiichi 1100 or Tiemco TMC 100
• Thread: 70 Denier Olive Ultra Thread
• Wings: Dun Hackle Tips
• Tail: Coq de Leon Hackle Fibers or Dun Hackle Fibers
• Abdomen: Nature’s Spirit Fine Natural Dubbing to match natural
• Hackle: Dun Neck or Saddle Hackle