Tying Instructions

This is a pretty straightforward tie. I suggest tying the body a tad loose and then tightening it up with the copper wire to emphasize the emerger’s natural ribbing. Also, don’t skimp on the CDC. Build an initial tight bit above the thorax area, then cover the ball with a secondary overlay of looped CDC strands to catch the buoyant air bubbles. Tie in the mallard flank to create a shell over the CDC wing case for another air trap. These air trape, combined with the weight of the wire and saturated dubbing will allow the fly to float “tail down” while the CDC fluff and over wing keep the head in a generally upright position.

How to Fish

This is one of my “go to” flies when fishing the spring creeks and tiny streams of the La Crosse Wisconsin coulee area. I’ve fished it in the film over BWO and PMD hatches with a lot of success – great for those hard to satisfy sippers. Because of its bugginess and its ability to sit in the film, the CDCBWO Emerger covers a lot of ground from midge hatches to small black caddis as well as the Blue Winged Olive mayfly that it was tied to imitate. I suggest a #6 tipper for a very light presentation. On off days, you can use the CDC BWO as a trailer with larger prospector flies.