BWO nymphs

Last winter--- the first winter I really fished the truckee at all-- I had major success on a shabby looking fly which I had simply called the "gray winter midge fly." I now know that last winter was an amazing year for bwo's and in truth what I was imitating was almost exclusively bwo's. There are plenty of gray midge patterns out there and perhaps it may sometimes be taken as a midge but really it's not a good midge pattern. It has, however, evolved into a pattern that is my go-to fly for small mayflies (particularly baetis) and has performed well this winter on those overcast days when bwo's are hatching. It was also dynamite during late fall. I tie these in olive and gray and in sizes 16 to 20-- the gray has been the most effective for me with the olive occasionally being useful for matching the hatch. So here it is:

BJ's Gray BWO nymph:

MATERIALS:
thread: Danville gray 6/0 (or other)
hook: #16-20 tiemco 2457 or 2487
tail: natural duck flank fibers
body: gray thread
ribbing: black krystal flash
(coated with head cement after ribbing)
thorax: gray hare's ear with pheasant
tail pulled over the top - epoxied
legs: natural duck flan fibers

INSTRUCTIONS:
wrap a thread base and tie in 6-10 fibers of duck flank feather for a tail. Wrap the fibers all the way up to the eye of the hook to maintain a uniform body as well as the butts will be used for legs. Pinch and break the tail fibers to desired length (I like mine a little bit longer than the hook gap). Tie in the KF then wrap forward keeping the thread flat (spin the bobbin counterclockwise to flatten)-- build a slightly tapered body. Rib the body with the krystal flash, tie off, and then coat the body with head cement for durability. tie in a small chunk of pheasant tail to pull over the thorax -- I tie mine in dark side down so the dark/shiny side shows when I pull it over. Dub a thin thorax and pull back a couple of duck fibers for legs. Break or cut off excess duck flank and pull the pheasant tail over and tie off. Form a small thread head and whip finish. Epoxy the thorax and head using a needle and you're done!

Variation in olive: