Bodkin / Patterns

Mahogany Dun Thorax

Dry Fly · Trout · Intermediate · 1 version

Reference Recipe

  • Hook Standard dry-fly hook, 14-18
  • Thread Rusty brown 8/0 (70 denier)

Materials

  • Microfibbets (tail) Dun microfibbets (4-6 fibers)
  • Dry-fly dubbing Mahogany / reddish-brown (1 pinch)
  • Turkey flat or hackle tips (wing) Medium dun hackle (1 clump)
  • Dry-fly hackle Medium dun hackle (1 feather)

How to tie it

  1. Run thread to the bend and split 4-6 dun microfibbets into a wide V, each about one shank long, using a tiny dubbing ball to prop them apart.
  2. Dub a slim, slightly tapered mahogany abdomen forward and stop at the 65% mark. Keep it sparse.
  3. Tie in a single upright wing of dun turkey flat at the 65% mark, post it vertical, and figure-8 a dubbing base around it.
  4. Wind the dun hackle thorax-style through the wing base, 4-5 turns, then dub a touch more mahogany at the front.
  5. Trim a wide V from the underside of the hackle so the body sits flush in the film. That flush float is the whole point of the thorax style.
  6. Whip finish behind the eye and add a drop of cement.

Tying videos

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