Faded Baetis

Cade M. - February 2024

The Faded Baetis has been one of my longest tested flies and has been a staple in my box for a very long time. In our picky tailwaters I wanted a simple Baetis imitation that had a little bit of flash to entice a take but not shiny to spook em off. Enter the thread blend, by flattening the thread you are able to have the tinsel body slightly shine through the thread giving this a great appearance and that just right amount of shine. This is my most productive color combo but I have tested other colors with this technique and they have worked amazingly well! Like the Baetis Max I love fishing this under a dry in a dry dropper rig in smaller sizes but it will also fish great in a variety of other techniques. Spin a few of these up and I'm sure you will always want to have a few of these in your box.

Material List
  • Hook: Umpqua XC210BL-BN Perdi-Jig Hook - 20
  • Hook (Alternate): Fulling Mill 5125 Jig Force Short Barbless Hook - 20
  • Bead: Fly Fish Food Anchor Beads - Offset - Silver - 2.8mm
  • Bead (Alternate): Tactical Tungsten Drop Bead - Silver - 2.5mm
  • Bead (Alternate): *NEW* Umpqua Jig Bombs Inverting Tungsten Beads - 3.0mm - Silver
  • Thread: UTC Ultrathread 70 Denier - Olive
  • Thread (Alternate): Danville 6/0 Waxed Flymaster 70 Denier Thread - Light Olive
  • Tail: Spanish Coq De Leon - Pardo
  • Body: Semperfli Perdigon Body - Iridescent Pink
  • Body (Alternate): Perdigones Pearl Body - Olive Brown (PBF-32)
  • Wing Case: Uni POSCA Paint Marker - Black
    • Materials & Alternate Materials Listed Below