RS2

By Rim Chung. Deadly mayfly emerger for picky trout. Versatile, can be fished near surface or as a nymph.

Printed on the 6 of spades

The RS2 is about as sparse as a fly gets: a slim body, split tails and a small puff of dubbing or beaver fur for a wing. It was designed by Rim Chung in Colorado, and the name stands for Rim's Semblance 2. It looks like almost nothing in the hand, which is exactly the point.

It works because an emerging mayfly is not a crisp, well-defined insect. It is a half-shed, translucent, indistinct thing hanging in or just under the film, and hard edges are what get a fly refused on flat water. The RS2's fuzzy wing breaks up its outline the way a real emerger's does.

On tailwaters it is close to indispensable. Fished in the surface film during a baetis hatch, or a few inches down as a trailing nymph, it accounts for an enormous number of difficult fish — the ones that have already refused a well-drifted dun.

What does a RS2 imitate?

Emerging mayflies, especially baetis, trapped in the film.

How do you fish a RS2?

Trail it eighteen inches behind a heavier nymph, or grease the leader and fish it in the film during a hatch. Long, fine tippet and a genuinely drag-free drift are not optional.

When should you fish a RS2?

Spring and autumn baetis hatches, and through winter on tailwaters. Best when fish are visibly working but refusing dries.

What are the quick tips for fishing it?

• Gray and olive in #20 and #22 cover most situations.
• When a dun gets refused, this is the next fly to try.
• Tie it sparse. Bulk is what ruins it.

How is a RS2 tied?

• Hook: standard dry/emerger, #18-#22
• Thread: gray 8/0
• Tail: split Microfibbets
• Body: gray or olive superfine dubbing
• Wing: gray beaver or muskrat fluff, short

Dressings vary by tier and region. Treat this as the common recipe, not the only one.