Baetis as a nymph is a pattern that I love to have it in my box. The insect is very abundance in all rivers from Europe and represents a great source of food for trout and grayling. In certain moments this insect is predominant and that made the fish to feed in frenzy. In those moments, both trout and grayling are very picky with what they eat and a good imitation is the key to success.
I often make this fly in very small sizes and when the rivers is fast I make the fly as simple as possible and I use a tungsten bead to help the nymph to go down and fast.
If the rivers are medium slowing and shallow, I prefer to make the baetis nymph without bead. I use tungsten wire to give her weight. I noticed that the beads sometimes scare the fish and a better fly silhouette is more effective.
Some tips if you like to make these versions:
*use small hooks in size #18 -16 ( with maximum 2xlong shank )
*make slim profile because the insect is delicate
*for body I prefer synthetic nymph skin in size small (wich I designed and tested for 2 years), In the past I used peacock quill which is very fragile. Of course if you like you can use yellow thread ribbed with brown thin thread. But I like the synthetic material because it gives nice body segment, is durable and help the flies to sink faster.
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