Blue-winged Olive flies

{{Infobox artificial fly

|image = File:Blue-Winged Olive Quill.jpg

|caption = Blue-winged Olive Quill

|type= Dry fly, Nymph, Emerger

|imitates = Mayflies

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|sizes= 12-22 standard dry fly, nymph

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|use1 = Trout

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Blue-winged Olive flies is a collective term used by anglers in fly fishing to identify a broad array of mayflies having olive, olive-brown bodies and bluish wings in their adult form. Sometimes referred to as BWO, a wide array of artificial flies are tied to imitate adult, nymphal and emerging stages of the aquatic insect. While the family Baetidae probably has the most species identified as blue-winged olives, another mayfly family Ephemerellidae also contains some.{{cite web |url=http://www.troutnut.com/common-name/8/Blue-Winged-Olives |title=Blue-Winged Olives}} Collectively, blue-winged olive mayflies are an important food source in most trout streams, thus their widespread imitation by fly tiers.

History

The first mention of Blue-winged Olive as common name may be in Frederick Halford's Dry Fly Entomology (1897).{{cite book |last=Halford |first=Frederic M. |title=Dry Fly Entomology |publisher=Vinton & Co |location=London |year=1897 |url=https://archive.org/details/dryflyentomolog00halfgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/dryflyentomolog00halfgoog/page/n402 57-60] |quote=Halford. }} Halford's Blue-winged Olives were identified as members of the genus Ephemerella. Both Alfred Ronald's Fly-Fisher's Entomology (1837){{ cite book | last = Ronalds | first = Alfred | title = The Fly-Fisher's Entomology | publisher = Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans | location = London | year = 1836 }} and Mary Orvis Marbury's Favorite Flies and Their Histories (1892){{cite book |last=Marbury |first=Mary Orvis |title=Favorite Flies and Their Histories |publisher=Houghton and Mifflin Company |location=Boston and New York |year=1892 |url=https://archive.org/details/favoritefliesan01marbgoog}} do not refer to any flies as Blue-winged Olives. There is ample evidence in fly fishing literature that what are now called Blue-winged Olives were once called Olive Duns, Blue Duns, Iron-blue Duns, Olive Quills, etc.

General description

Swisher and Richards' Selective Trout (1971) gives the following description: {{ cite book | last = Richards | first = Carl |author2=Swisher, Doug | title = Selective Trout-A Dramatically New and Scientific Approach to Trout Fishing on Eastern and Western Rivers. | url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_0517521334 | url-access = registration | publisher = Crown Publishers | location = New York | year = 1971 |page=56| isbn = 978-0-517-52133-5 }}

{{Blockquote

|text=For the fly-fisherman, it will be much more practical to cover the numerous Blue-wing Olives as one group. In general this group can be divided into two fairly distinct color types. This holds true not only for duns but also for nymphs and spinners. Most duns fall into either the light-gray wing--olive body or medium gray-olive brown body classification. Nymphs are generally brown or olive brown, while spinners are medium or dark brown.

|author=Doug Swisher and Carl Richards

}}

List of Blue-winged Olive patterns

=Adult patterns=

==Duns==

{{columns-list|colwidth=35em|

As described in Flies for Trout (Stewart and Allen, 1993):{{cite book |title=Flies for Trout |last=Stewart |first=Dick |author2=Allen, Farrow |publisher=Mountain Pond Publishing |location=North Conway, NH |year=1993 |pages=34–35 |isbn= 0936644141}}

Classic Blue Dun
Blue Quill
Blue Wing Olive
Blue Wing Olive, Loop Para Dun

As described in A.K.'s Fly Box, A.K. Best (1996){{cite book |title=A.K.'s Fly Box |last=Best |first=A.K. |date=1996 |publisher=Lyons & Buford |location=New York, NY |pages=9–14 |isbn=1558213627}}

Olive Quill Dun
Olive Quill Dun Parachute

As described in Trout Country Flies (Staples, 2002):{{cite book |title=Trout Country Flies-From Greater Yellowstone Masters |last=Staples |first=Bruce |date=2002 |publisher=Frank Amato Publications |location=Portland, OR |isbn=1571882480 |page=42-83 }}

Donnelly Blue Dun
Sparkle Dun

}}

{{Gallery

| title = Blue-Winged Olive Duns

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| File:BWO CDC Winged Olive Biot.jpg|BWO CDC Winged Olive Biot

| File:BWO Hen Winged Olive Biot.jpg|BWO Hen Winged Olive Biot

| File:BWO Olive Fur CDC Wing.jpg|BWO Olive Fur CDC Wing

| File:BWO Olive Quill CDC Wing.jpg|BWO Olive Quill CDC Wing

| File:BWO Olive Sparkle Dun.jpg|BWO Olive Sparkle Dun

}}

==Spinners==

{{columns-list|colwidth=35em|

As described in Flies for Trout:{{cite book |title=Flies for Trout |last=Stewart |first=Dick |author2=Allen, Farrow |publisher=Mountain Pond Publishing |location=North Conway, NH |year=1993 |pages=45 |isbn= 0936644141}}

Blue Wing Olive Crystal Wing Spinner
Clear Wing Spinner, Brown

As described in A.K.'s Fly Box, A.K. Best (1996){{cite book |title=A.K.'s Fly Box |last=Best |first=A.K. |date=1996 |publisher=Lyons & Buford |location=New York, NY |pages=9–14 |isbn=1558213627}}

NQ Quill Spinner
Red Quill Spinner
Light Olive Quill Spinner

As described in Trout Country Flies (2002), Bruce Staples

Flatwing Spinner
Hen Spinner

=Nymph patterns=

As described in Flies for Trout:{{cite book |title=Flies for Trout |last=Stewart |first=Dick |author2=Allen, Farrow |publisher=Mountain Pond Publishing |location=North Conway, NH |year=1993 |pages=22, 26, 29 |isbn= 0936644141}}

As described in Trout Country Flies (2002), Bruce Staples

Sparkle PT Nymph

=Emerger patterns=

As described in Flies for Trout:{{cite book |title=Flies for Trout |last=Stewart |first=Dick |author2=Allen, Farrow |publisher=Mountain Pond Publishing |location=North Conway, NH |year=1993 |pages=31, 33 |isbn= 0936644141}}

Captive Dun
Compara Emerger
Loop Wing Emerger Olive

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References

Category:Fly fishing