Bodkin / Patterns

Pale Watery Dun

Dry Fly · Trout · Grayling · Intermediate · 2 versions

Classic Recipe

• Hook Standard dry fly, fine wire, 16-18
• Thread Primrose yellow 8/0 or Pearsall's Gossamer

Materials

• Tail Palest ginger cock fibers (6)
• Body Palest buff opossum or cream fur (small amount)
• Wing Young starling primary slips (2)
• Hackle Pale blue dun or palest ginger cock (1 feather)

How to tie it

1. Start primrose silk behind the eye and wrap to the bend, the yellow silk glows through the pale dubbing and gives the natural's straw tint.
2. Tie in six palest ginger fibers as the tail, one shank length long.
3. Dub the palest buff fur you own into a wispy, slim body up to the 70% mark. Keep it translucent. These are among the palest of all upwings.
4. Tie in two slips of young (pale) starling upright and divided at the 70% mark.
5. Wind 3-4 turns of pale hackle behind the wings and 2 in front.
6. Whip finish a tiny head and varnish.

Other versions

1 more in the app: Wet.

Tying videos

• Pale Watery Dun — Big Hole Lodge (YouTube)
• Pale Watery Dun — Davie McPhail (YouTube)
• Pale Watery Dun — Davie McPhail (YouTube)
• Pale Watery Dun — Masa Ishii’s Fly Fishing Styles (YouTube)

← All fly patterns