Olives

[Iso]

With the on-and-off rain lately, it looks like I'll need to tie up a few olives. I have never done well with olives. My defaults are typically usuals and comparaduns -- 18-22.

What do folks do about colors? I've done well with cornutas later in May, but they are a kermit the frog green and bigger. I have a buddy that ties olives in a mint green on olive thread and does well. Do folks like a darker green on olive thread? What about adams gray dubbing on black thread?

What sizes should I focus on?

 

[lightenup]

Olives were hatching on the Musky on Sunday and not a fish rising to them.....as far as flies, I have had luck with parachutes in olive green for the tiny ones....also sparkle duns in olive green, sparkle duns are great flies....

 

[tomfly]

During the hatch (transition from emerger to Dun.) As the Dun i floats down stream, it’s body color can change from pale olive to medium olive to brown olive to almost black. Usually three stages( pale , medium , to dark depending on stream chemistry) Wing color will also change from pale dun to dark dun. The fish can be sporadic at times while taking the duns off the surface. In unison all rise at the sametime for a few minutes and then stop. Five minuets later they are all rising again. You see the olives still floating over them and the fish do not take them. This is because they are taking the Duns that emerged upstream and have gone through the color change. The fish only want that particular stage of the color transition . If you understand this you will catch more fish. Often like LU stated the fish nothing to do with the Duns on the surface. Olives hatch on the bottom and swim to the surface . I have had very good success with using emerges. At times the fish want them in a typical drift. Sometimes they want the emerges moving. I have caught a good many fish twitching olive emerges like a wet-fly or you would streamer.

 

[moosekid]

I have some comparamergers that I really like, but I didn't tie them. Even my size 16 comparaduns are ugly.

..but yeah, the olives were all over the Neversink on Friday. Fish were definitely taking emergers and I got a few up top, but nypmhing size 18 PTs was painfully easy. It was a banner day for that river. My cousin who's never held a fly rod (and hasn't spin-fished in over 10 years) netted 7 fish and probably missed 50 takes.

 

[MACFLY]

I like the parachute olive in size 18 for fishing around here. Paraemerger is another great pattern. As far as thread color. Dark olive seems to work quite well. Hopefully the cornutas start soon so we can get down to a size 14 This morning I used a parachute olive size 18 with good results. had to make do with a traditional catskill style olive in the same size which worked but not as well later in the hatch (left a half down paraemergers in the car and didn't have time to go back. This is a good week to fish them as the overcast drizzly weather is creating all day hatching. 2 days ago the bird where working the stream over so much that I almost hooked a couple of them in mid flight. Saw my first March browns today. Just a handful but I bet next week it will be taking off