Diabaetis Perdigon Fly Tying Tutorial

January 26, 2022

It may be late January, but Baetis season is just around the corner in many locations. Baetis mayflies are a genus of small dark mayflies often referred to as blue winged olives in much of the fly fishing world. Whether your local river has Baetis or not, small dark mayflies are nearly ubiquitous, and they often are one of the first and last hatches of the year to get the trout excited and hard on the feed. Baetis are very important in all of the rivers and streams that I fish.

While I have several other nymphs and perdigons that work well during Baetis hatches, I am always searching for another pattern to rotate through depending on the conditions in front of me. I have been fishing this perdigon for a couple of years now. I have tried variations with and without the wire and hot spot but this is the recipe that has worked best for me. It is imitative enough to fool trout that are focused on drifting Baetis nymphs but the wire, the sheen of the perdigon body/tinsel, and the orange hot spot set it apart from the thousands of other nymphs that can be in the drift. I've had success with it in tough tailwaters as well as freestone rivers. I'm sure if you work it into your rotation it will bring plenty of trout to the net for you as well.

You can see the recipe and buy the materials for the fly below:

Hook: I use the Dohiku 302 SP, Dohiku 303, or Umpqua 210 PerdiJig, but we have lots of other good options including the Soldarini 500 and 520.

Dohiku HDN 302 SP jig/nymph hook (20)

Dohiku HDC 303 terrestrial/light nymph hook (18)

Umpqua XC 210BL-BN Perdi-Jig Hook (sz.20)

Soldarini S500 Jig Hook (20)

Soldarini S520 Jig Hook (20) Bead: Silver Tactical Fly Fisher Slotted or Inverting Tungsten Bead

Tactical Fly Fisher Slotted Tungsten Beads, 50 Pack (Gold, Silver, Copper, Black Nickel, and Unfinished Tungsten) (Silver, 2.3mm)

Tactical Fly Fisher Inverting Tungsten Beads 50 Pack (Gold, Silver, Copper, Black Nickel and Unfinished Tungsten) (2.5 mm, Silver) Thread: Black 16/0 Veevus or 8/0 Uni

Veevus 16/0 Thread (Black - 01)

UNI 8/0 Midge Thread (Black)

Hot Spot Thread: Fl. orange 16/0 Veevus