We call them blue-winged olives, the small mayflies that can be found over the water on winter afternoons between November and March. If no hatch is in progress, tie on a nymph or a pair of nymphs. Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail is a pattern that dates back to the early 1900s on England’s chalk streams. Weighted with wire, it should be allowed to sink then made to swim toward the surface with a slow lift of the rod tip.

Fish this pattern on a long leader with a light tippet to probe slow moving pools. Watch the end of the fly line for movement that signals the bite.

Tie the Sawyer Pheasant Tail on a No. 18 Tiemco 100 hook. Underwrap the length of the hook with a double wrap of fine bronze wire. For the tail, tie in six forest-green pheasant tail fibers and split it with a thread wrap. Wrap the body with dyed forest green pheasant tail tied the length of the body and folded to create the wing case over the thorax. Rib with fine bronze wire or red copper.

—Gary Lewis, For The Bulletin