I’ve been at the vise lately, completing a fly order for a good customer. I thought you might enjoy some fishy looking flies!

I took materials with me to the Big Island of Hawaii and tied all the Sparkle Duns, a total of 60. Since I’ve been home, I finished the order and thought I’d share the flies with you. They include my RiverKeeper Soft Hackle Cripples to imitate Callibaetis and Caudatella mayflies shown below. The image above is a closeup of the Caudatella.

Here are the Caudatella Sparkle Duns in sizes 16 to 12.

And the Callibaetis version in sizes 14 and 16.

The last flies on the order I tied were Hatchmasters, imitating Callibaetis mayflies. These are size 14, but I also tied them in 16’s.

As I was tying these flies, I dreamed of where I’d fish them and trout rising to the flies.
Soon…
Enjoy…go fish!
A timely post about Callibaetis, … two days ago April 25, I saw my first hatch of them this year at a Justesen Ranch lake…came off about 1:30. Initially the trout were on emergers before switching to the abundant duns. I need to tie some emergers.
Is there a more common name for Caudatella Mayflies?
Thanks for keeping this blog going. It’s the best!
Hi Ron – I don’t know of a common name for this mayfly.
Hi John,
Nice flies I must knuckle down to stock my boxes some time soon. Our trout season has opened but I have not ventured out as yet. A combination of limited time, my wife is in Canada for a few weeks, and I have livestock (rabbits) to look after. It is also cold and windy and cold weather will limit any hatches. I am told that an old Yorkshire pattern, John Storey is doing well – check it out.
Best Wishes
Keith