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Executive Angler
BWO Parachute

dry

BWO Parachute

Sizes
#16
Imitates
Baetis duns · Blue-Winged Olives · small mayflies
Origin
Various tyers, evolved from parachute tradition

The BWO Parachute is a specific-color Adams variant tied to match the ubiquitous Blue-Winged Olive mayfly hatch. With its olive body and dun hackle riding low in the film, it perfectly imitates Baetis duns drifting helplessly on the surface. It is the fly you reach for when olive-bodied mayflies blanket the water from fall through spring.

Recipe

This is one dressing. Tie it in other colors to match the hatch in front of you.

Workbench

Variants

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SizeBeadBodyIn boxAdd to box
#16—Olive——

At the vise

Same structure as a Parachute Adams: olive body, dun tail, and a parachute post. The post can be white or hi-vis. Change body and hackle color to match the Baetis in front of you.

Tying video

Fishing now on

Rivers whose hatch chart names this pattern this month. Names and sizes only.

On the water

Present the BWO Parachute with a dead drift in the feeding lanes during a Baetis hatch. These hatches often occur on overcast, drizzly days — the worse the weather, the better the fishing. Size down when fish refuse: #20-22 matches late-season Baetis.

History

Blue-Winged Olive parachute patterns evolved from the general parachute dry fly tradition as anglers realized that matching the specific olive coloration of Baetis mayflies dramatically improved catch rates during these prolific hatches. The BWO Parachute became a tailwater essential through the 1990s and 2000s.

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