Baetis hatches remain a prime attraction during the spring and fall seasons in the western areas of the United States. It would be foolhardy to approach either of these seasons without a supply of blue winged olive nymphs, emergers and dry flies in sizes ranging from 18 to 24. I personally subscribe to this recommendation, and the classic RS2 is a core offering in the game of fooling trout with BWO imitations.
Nice Angled View of a RS2
The classic RS2 was created by a Coloradan and requires minimal materials. The original did not require a bead, but I added a small silver bead to provide some sink, when I choose to fish the RS2 as a trailing nymph on a dry/dropper rig. My other modification was to substitute brown fibers from a ring neck pheasant feather as tails instead of using the guard hairs on a muskrat skin. Can you imagine how tedious it is to pluck tiny guard hairs from a patch of muskrat?
A Dozen RS2’s
For a link to a materials table and previous descriptions of my experience with the classic RS2, review my post of 12/07/2020. I depleted my classic RS2 supply more than normal in 2021, and this caused me to produce an additional dozen to bring my inventory to its target level. Hopefully these RS2’s with be gracing my line a couple months from now, as the first waves of baetis become active.