Materials used for Pale Morning Dun Mayfly Cripple:
A female Pale Morning Dun
Materials | |
Hook: | Daiichi 1310, Dai Riki 305 #14 – 16 or any dry fly hook |
Thread: | 8/0 yellow, light cahill |
Tail: | Zelon – mayfly brown |
Body: | Superfine dubbing – yellowish olive or march brown |
Wing: | EP Trigger Point Fibers – light or medium dun |
Hackle: | Light or medium dun |
Directions:
- Attach thread to hook behind hook eye and wind backwards about halfway.
- Tie in Zelon and hold upwards and on top of hook while continuing to wrap thread to hook barb.
- Add dubbing to thread and wind forward until 2/3 point.
- Tie in wing material, allowing materials to extend over hook eye. Wrap tightly as materials are slick. Cut rear section and leave small tuft.
- Tie in hackle. Place 3 wraps behind wing and lift wing material up and place 2 wraps in front. Tie off hackle and cut excess.
- Whip finish.
- Trim tail 2/3 body length.
- To trim wing, pull wing back and trim at end of body.
- Trim hackle bottom even with hook point to allow low profile in water.
For more information about PMDs and their life-cycle, check out my blog – Pale Morning Duns – PMDs.
Cool! I look forward to tying some of these flies. Thanks for the info.
I love the actual insect pic!! When would it be best to use this type of fly during the year? Also, would this this a lake or river fly or both? Very cool!!
Hey Brian,
The Pale Morning Dun (PMD) is a fly which lives in rivers – they need moving water to survive. The hatch generally begins in late May and will continue through September. In addition, there are a few PMD “cousins”, not PMDs, but similar size and color that may hatch throughout the year. The Metolius has some “cousins” hatching in October and PMD imitations work just fine!