I chronicled the history of the RS2 in a previous post, so you can read that explanation by clicking on the link in this sentence. When I first began tying these diminutive nymphs in the 90’s, I used muskrat guard hairs for the tails, and I did not include a beadhead. At some stage in my fly fishing evolution, I became a huge proponent of dry/dropper fishing, and I began to add tiny silver beads to my output.
At this point in my fly fishing life I make all my RS2’s with beads, and I substituted fibers from a brown pheasant feather for the tail. The bead never seems to prevent fish from chowing down on the RS2, and the extra weight allows me to fish it as a single dropper off a large buoyant top fly.
Side View
Over the last two seasons I discovered that Craven’s soft hackle emerger is also a productive fly before and during blue winged olive hatches, so I migrated to using the small wet fly more frequently than the RS2. Despite this tendency, I continue to deploy the RS2 on a regular basis. I suspect that it also is taken for a midge larva during certain periods when baetis are not present in large numbers, and the small amount of weight related to the bead enables me to fish it deeper than the soft hackle emerger.
A Completed Batch
When I counted my supply of RS2’s, I found twenty present in my boxes and bins, so I tied an additional ten to bring my total to thirty for the 2016 season. The RS2 is an essential addition to my arsenal, and I do not plan to approach streams without some.
Hi Dave-I’ve been thoroughly enjoying your blog. I live in Boulder and work in Lakewood, and am a new fly fisherman. With temps approaching 60 the next couple of days, do you have any fishing locations you’d recommend? Thanks!
Steve – Well I just returned from fishing in South Boulder Creek today. It was quite challenging. It was 42 degrees in the canyon below Gross Reservoir compared to 60 in Denver, and the flows were 8.5 cfs which is very low. I spotted five or six fish in some slow moving deep pools, but I was unable to tempt any except for one momentary hook up. I think the low clear water and cold temperatures make fishing in South Boulder Creek at this time very difficult. So cross South Boulder Creek off your list. I checked Clear Creek first and it was unfishable, at least to me, since there were ice shelves on both sides of the stream. If I were going to fish tomorrow, I would head to the South Platte River near Deckers, Cheesman Canyon, or the Arkansas River. All these rivers are at lower elevation and the canyon walls are not as tight so it should be warmer with more sun hitting the water. I’m not a huge fan of fishing when the weather gets cold, and today kind of reinforced why. My hands and feet get cold and the fish are lethargic. Of course if I hit some hot fishing, my attitude would probably change.