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Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

Lateral view of a Clostoeca disjuncta (Limnephilidae) (Northern Caddisfly) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington
This one was surprisingly straightforward to identify. The lack of a sclerite at the base of the lateral hump narrows the field quite a bit, and the other options followed fairly obvious characteristics to Clostoeca, which only has one species, Clostoeca disjuncta.
27" brown trout, my largest ever. It was the sub-dominant fish in its pool. After this, I hooked the bigger one, but I couldn't land it.
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Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph Pictures

This male nymph is probably in its final instar. The wing pads are extremely black and the large turbinate eyes are very apparent inside the nymph's head.

Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph from the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin
Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph from the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin
Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph from the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin
Ventral view of a Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph from the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin
Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph from the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin
Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph from the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin
Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph from the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin
Lateral view of a Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph from the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin
Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph from the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin
Dorsal view of a Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph from the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin

This mayfly was collected from the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin on June 9th, 2005 and added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on May 26th, 2006.

Discussions of this Nymph

Nymph Color Comment
8 replies
Posted by DarkDun on Jan 30, 2007
Last reply on Jul 18, 2009 by Shawnny3
I see the grayish tint as more of a Salmon tint. I would tie up some variations and test them. I tie all my nymphs with a variegated coloration rather than a blend. This works on most flies and I try to match the tones to the segment(band)of the natural as you sugested. I have had much success with this approach.
Baetid nymph color
1 replies
Posted by Martinlf on Dec 23, 2006
Last reply on Dec 26, 2006 by GONZO
OK, this olive nymph seems to have a good bit of grey in it. I know colors vary a lot among baetids, but I'm wondering about a good general color for shucks. And nymphs. Are most of them more olive than this? Or is it too hard to generalize? Also, I notice darker and lighter segments in the abdomen. I've noted this in subvaria's and try to get a lighter band just ahead of the darker tail segment in nymphs I tie for them. Perhaps this is a good idea with baetid nymphs as well.

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Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Nymph Pictures

Collection details
Location: Bois Brule River, Wisconsin
Date: June 9th, 2005
Added to site: May 26th, 2006
Author: Troutnut
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