BWO's on the Y

[esummers]

Wondering if the dry fly bite on BWO's is happening on the Y? If so, are there any secrets to get them to bite. I've been fly fishing for 20+ years, but really got fooled last January on the Y with BWO's. There were some tremendous days of fish rising in the slicks, but man were they picky. I tried everything - cripples, duns, emergers, 6x, downstream presentation, etc. etc., but had very little luck. Would love to give it another try this year, but hopefully bring a few more to hand. Any advice would be appreciated.

[thekid]

it went gangbusters on thursday!

[jmac]

I fished above the bridge yesterday and there were BWO's in the air and on the water - not tremendous numbers, but they were there and the fish were coming up to feed on them. I fished dries - rose four fish, hooked three and landed one.

I was fishing cripple patterns on 5x, and also dropped a baetis soft hackle on 6x. I hooked a nice fish on the soft hackle, but with 6x I was not as aggressive with it as I'd like and it came off right before I got it in the net. I think 6x is light for Yuba rainbows, so typically I'd stick to 5x which seems to work. The fish I landed was on a parachute adams with 5x. I think you just need to really get a good drift, especially if you aren't casting to a fish that is feeding consistently - they were coming up yesterday, I think on emergers, but not consistently. Good drifts brought some fish up.

Hope this helps.

John

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Any day with overcast can be very good in the winter for BWOs on many rivers, even the Lower American.

[esummers]

Thanks guys. What size are you using to match the BWO emergers and cripples? I was using 18's for the most part last year and I'm wondering if that's a bit to large? Also, what length leader would you recommend?

Finding those podded up rainbows rising to Blue Wings really gets the heart pounding - even if they give you a beating! Can't wait to get back out there.

Thanks for the help

[jmac]

[QUOTE=esummers;90748]Thanks guys. What size are you using to match the BWO emergers and cripples? I was using 18's for the most part last year and I'm wondering if that's a bit to large? Also, what length leader would you recommend?

I was using #18s which looked a bit larger than the naturals, but that's smallest I had, and it worked, so I guess it was ok. I'll try #20 next time if bugs look the same - and switch back and forth depending on results. I'd try to match what you see, and maybe go a size smaller than you think, but try different things if you are getting good drifts with no results.

I started with a 7.5' 5x leader, but that was short so I tied on 12-18" of 5x, and the dropper was another 18" of 6x when I was using it. The Adams I used at the end was #18 with no dropper. As Bill mentioned, typically you'll see more of a BWO hatch on cloudy day, and Sunday was pretty sunny for the most part, so that was probably why the hatch seemed sparse.