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.

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Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun

Lateral view of a Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #308 in Washington

This dun emerged from a mature nymph on my desk. Unfortunately its wings didn't perfectly dry out.

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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.

Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

hook size

Sadie01
North Carolina

Posts: 1

Sadie01 on Feb 17, 2017February 17th, 2017, 2:30 am EST

Don't get to trout fish much so I have difficulty identifying some but not all the flies I have. I also never know what size fly I have. What do others do to assist with fly and (hook) size identification while out trying to fish.
Thank you for any and all ideas.

Wbranch

York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635

Wbranch on Feb 18, 2017February 18th, 2017, 11:21 pm EST

It is quite easy to memorize the sizes of your hooks. There are many fly fishing catalogs that sell fly tying materials and in those catalogs are pages showing different styles and sizes of hooks. Get a couple catalogs and compare your flies with the pictures in the catalogs and that will help you remember what sizes they are.

You could also go to a local fly shop and ask the sales person to pick out a bunch of flies in sizes #8 - #22 and then you would have samples to compare. There are dozens of hook shapes and styles so you might need a few of the different styles too.

http://www.lulusoso.com/upload/20120309/Fly_fishing_hook.jpg

http://www.jsflyfishing.com/tiemco-tmc-hooks

Here are just two of the many hook charts I was able find in a few minutes of searching on the Internet.

Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.