Callibaetis Comparadun

Curtis - May 16, 2014

Back when I was a starving college student and didn't have two dimes to rub together nor any money to buy more than crappy Indian neck hackle for my dry flies, I was frustrated while fishing a great Baetis hatch as the fish ignored my mostly sinking dry fly offerings. Granted, the hackle was horrible and acted more as a soft hackle, but I was getting beat up pretty good. A turning point in my fishing life came when a nice guy down the river from me, handed me a comparadun pattern as he left for the day. My first cast resulted in a nice thick Brown Trout and I was sold on this hackle-free miracle dry fly.

Now years have passed and while I tend to gravitate to a lot of other patterns these days, the comparadun is still a great pattern and in this instance a great one to imitate the stillwater staple: the Callibaetis.

So for you stillwater guys, pay attention. This fly is one that you'll want to have at your disposal. So, in this pattern, we add a few other features not found in typical comparadun patterns. First, there's the biot body and then I also add a bit of "callibaetis fleck" in the wing through the use of Teal flank feathers. All in all, it's a pretty nice pattern. And if you've ever been on a lake during a decent callibaetis hatch, this is a pattern you will want to have in your box. You can put away the sinking lines, leeches and buggers and catch nice chunky stillwater fish on dry flies.

I've also found it's a great searching pattern on stillwaters -- even when fish aren't actively rising. You'd be surprised what a decent looking dry fly callibaetis pattern can drum up on a calm non-hatchy day.