What Fish Eat

Aquatic insects make up the majority of a fish's diet. The four key insect orders (listed first and not including Streamers or Terrestrials) that emerge from streams and lakes are:

Mayflies Caddisflies Midges Stoneflies Streamers Terrestrials

Mayflies Important to Fly Fishing

When fly fishing in the Western U.S., the angler can typically rely on three species to pattern mayflies. These commonly used mayfly patterns are:

Blue Wing Olive Pale Morning Dun Trico

Blue Wing Olive Mayflies - Baetis

Blue wing olive or baetis are swimmer mayflies and inhabit quick moving rivers and streams. Baetis nymphs have three long, narrow tails with the middle tail slightly shorter than the outer two. Baetis are capable of two complete life cycles in a single year. There hatches will be typically be the first (e.g., January) and the last of the year.

Blue Wing Olive Nymph Imitation

Pattern Name	Color	Hook Size
Flash Back Hare's Ear Nymph	Tan Body	# 16
Hare's Ear Nymph	Tan, Brown Body	# 16
Pheasant Tail Nymph	Green Body	# 20

Blue Wing Olive Emerger

Pattern Name	Color	Hook Size	Thumbnail Image
Blue Wing Olive Epoxy Emerger	Olive Body	# 18
Blue Wing Olive, CDC Cripple	Olive Body	# 18

Blue Wing Olive Dunn

Pattern Name	Color	Hook Size	Thumbnail Image
Blue Wing Olive	Olive Body	# 18
Blue Wing Olive, Parachute	Olive Body	# 18

Blue Wing Olive Spinner

Pattern Name	Color	Hook Size	Thumbnail Image
Rusty Spinner	Rust Orange Body	# 18
Poly Wing Mayfly Spinner	Olive Body	# 20	photo coming soon

The Ecological Angler