Bubble Back BWO: Nymph Tying Tutorial

In this video, Simon ties his secret winter nymph that he doesn’t leave home without. The Bubble back BWO is tied to imitate an ascending Baetis nymph surfacing to hatch and is one of his most productive BWO nymphs. When mayfly nymphs get ready to hatch, their exoskeleton fills with gases and they rise to the surface. Sometimes they deliberately swim, sometimes they uncontrollably float to the surface. Regardless, their bodies transform and get a lucent or “shimmery” appearance.

The glass bead bubble imitates this perfectly, and is also suggestive of the dun breaking through the old skin. The body is thread, wire, and resin, so it is durable, and the glossy finish helps drive the point home that this is a mature Baetis nymph that is hatching. The legs are Flouro Fibre, which is used on Charlie Craven’s Juju Baetis, it makes great legs on especially small nymphs. This fly excels at getting picky fish to eat, especially those older, smarter fish. Tied on a stout Ahrex 563 #18, it is strong enough for when that big fish decides to eat. For a small fly, it is especially good at putting large fish in the net. It is also light enough to tag behind a small dry fly.

The general blueprint of this nymph can be sized up or down and colors changed as the seasons change to imitate different mayflies. This is a fly you don’t want to leave home without this time of year, especially right now as we’ve been seeing Baetis hatches mid day. Tie some up this one can be a day saver!