Overview

The Magic Fly was designed by Chris Passage, an Umpqua signature tyer from the Southern Rockies, for Pale Morning Dun and blue-winged olive hatches.

It sits between an exact imitation and an attractor. A ribbed body, dubbed thorax and synthetic wing give it the look of a mayfly nymph about to hatch, and it can also pass for a midge or an emerging mayfly. That flexibility is why it works so well during the transition from nymph to adult, when trout often feed on bugs just under the surface rather than on the duns above.

How to Fish It

• Dead drift: fish it as the second fly in a nymph rig on 6X or 7X tippet.
• In the film: grease it lightly and fish it just under the surface when trout are swirling but not taking duns.
• Dry-dropper: trail it 12 to 18 inches behind a PMD dry during the hatch.
• Timing: PMDs hatch on many Western rivers from late spring through summer, usually late morning into the afternoon.

Choosing Color and Size

This listing is the PMD color in size 20, a good match for small, late-season PMDs on tailwaters and spring creeks, where fish key on small, pale mayflies.