The guys at Trouts Fly Shop in Denver hit the Colorado River recently, and they did some serious damage to the river’s lively browns and rainbows using baetis imitations.
Baetis, often imitated in the dun form by the venerable Blue-winged Olive, are great springtime flies, and among the first mayflies to emerge and hatch when water temperatures start to climb a bit after a long winter.
If you fish big western water, you know that baetis are active in the fall and spring, and, honestly, they hatch all winter, too, when warmer days sneak into the mix. Above, the guys at Trouts offer up five baetis imitations in various stages of emergence that you’d be wise to acquire for springtime fishing, especially if the fishy footage in the video is even close to accurate.
Check it out.