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Lemon Fade Olive Sparkle Dun

by @dekasso

Lemon Fade Olive Sparkle Dun — a fly pattern by Dekasso
More by @dekasso

Sparkle Dun · Dry fly

Yellow light melting into olive

A size 16 Sparkle Dun with a yellow-to-olive body and pearl Zelon wing, tied to sit low for trout during mayfly hatches.

A slim Sparkle Dun mayfly with a fanned pearl wing and a speckled tail. The body runs from soft yellow at the tail to olive at the head, crossed by fine pale yellow ribs.

Pattern
Sparkle Dun
Imitates
Pale olive and sulphur mayfly hatches
When
typically late spring into summer evenings
Hook
size 16
Tippet
5Xrule of three
  • Yellow body fades gently into olive
  • Pearl Zelon wing fanned upright
  • Speckled Coq de Leon tail
  • Slim, smooth body with fine ribs
  • Size 16 dry-fly hook

On the water

A dry fly riding the surface of a trout river

A thin, smooth body starts lemon yellow behind the speckled tail and drifts into olive toward the eye. Narrow pale ribs mark the segments. Above it, a fan of pearl Zelon catches the light like wet glass.

Fish it on flat water when duns ride the surface in a steady line. Cast a few feet above a rising fish and let it drift drag-free, low in the film, with the wing up as your marker.

Superfine dubbing blended in stages makes the colour shift. Mix a little olive into the yellow, then a little more, and wrap each blend in short, tight turns so no hard line shows.

A coiled leader, tippet spools and an open fly box on slate

Rigging

Tippet
5Xhook size divided by three
Leader
Nine feet, tapered — longer and finer in flat water
  • Use 5X or 6X tippet and a long leader for smooth water.
  • A dab of floatant on the wing only keeps the body riding low in the film.
  • Present it downstream with a slack-line reach cast so the fly drifts before the leader.

Where and when

Hatch
Pale olive and sulphur mayfly hatchestypically late spring into summer evenings
Target
Trout
Water type
Smooth flats, slow glides and spring creeks
Also fishes
Slow pools and tailouts during blue-winged olive and sulphur hatches, and in light rain when duns stay on the water longer.

Make it yourself

Intermediate5 materials · 10 steps

Pattern
Sparkle Dun
Style
Dry fly
Hook
Dry-fly hooksize 16
Thread
Olive 8/0
Fly-tying materials laid out on a dark bench

Materials in the order they go on the hook

  1. WingPearl Zelon
  2. TailCoq de Leon fibers
  3. RibPale yellow 8/0 thread
  4. BodySuperfine dubbing, yellow blending to olive
  5. ThoraxOlive superfine dubbing

Details

Imitates
Mayfly
Colors
Yellow, Olive, Pearl white, Ginger
A fly-tying vise holding a bare hook on a wooden bench

How to tie it

The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (10)
  1. Mount the hook and lay a thin olive thread base from the eye to the bend.
  2. Tie in a pinch of pearl Zelon one third of the shank back from the eye, tips forward, as long as the shank.
  3. Pull the wing upright, build a small thread dam in front, and spread the fibers into a 180-degree fan.
  4. Tie in six to eight Coq de Leon fibers at the bend, shank length, splayed slightly.
  5. Tie in the pale yellow rib thread at the bend and leave it hanging.
  6. Dub a very thin layer of yellow superfine dubbing over the rear third of the body.
  7. Blend yellow and olive dubbing and wrap the middle third, then switch to pure olive up to the wing.
  8. Wind the rib forward in five or six evenly spaced turns and tie it off behind the wing.
  9. Dub a small olive thorax, crossing behind and in front of the wing base.
  10. Form a neat head and whip finish behind the eye.
Proportions (4)
  • Wing height equals the hook shank length.
  • Tail fibers run about one shank length past the bend.
  • Body stays slim, with only a slight taper toward the thorax.
  • Thorax takes the front quarter of the shank, slightly fuller than the body.
Tips (4)
  • Use the smallest pinch of dubbing you can see on the thread to keep the body smooth.
  • Prepare three dubbing blends before you start so the colour shift stays even.
  • Stroke the Zelon upright and trim the tips to a soft arc for an even fan.
  • Keep the thread base flat so the thin body shows no lumps.
Common mistakes (4)
  • Too much dubbing turns the body fuzzy; twist it tight and use less.
  • A sharp colour line at mid-body; add a blended middle section to soften it.
  • A wing that leans back; build a firm thread dam in front of it.
  • Tail fibers bunched in one clump; split them with a few turns of thread.
A dozen-fly materials kit laid out on slate with its recipe card.
The kit

Every kit size

Materials only

Size 16 · Materials only · 12 flies

$31.15

$2.60 a fly

Includes Dry-fly hook · and 7 more

Every item in this kit · 8 items

Hooks & beads

  • Dry-fly hook$6.501 × 25 · size 16

Thread & wire

  • Olive 8/0 thread$2.951 spool
  • Pale yellow 8/0 thread$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Pearl Zelon$3.501 pack
  • Other material: Coq de Leon fibers$4.501 pack · From the recipe row "Tail"
  • Superfine dubbing, yellow blending to olive$4.501 dispenser

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 16 · Materials only · 48 flies

$48.59

$1.01 a fly

Bought separately $51.15 · you save $2.56

Includes Dry-fly hook · and 7 more

Every item in this kit · 8 items

Hooks & beads

  • Dry-fly hook$132 × 25 · size 16

Thread & wire

  • Olive 8/0 thread$2.951 spool
  • Pale yellow 8/0 thread$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Pearl Zelon$3.501 pack
  • Other material: Coq de Leon fibers$92 packs · From the recipe row "Tail"
  • Superfine dubbing, yellow blending to olive$13.503 dispensers

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 16 · Materials only · 144 flies

$113.12

$0.79 a fly

Bought separately $128.55 · you save $15.43

Includes Dry-fly hook · and 7 more

Every item in this kit · 8 items

Hooks & beads

  • Dry-fly hook$351 × 100 + 2 × 25 · size 16

Thread & wire

  • Olive 8/0 thread$8.853 spools
  • Pale yellow 8/0 thread$9.753 spools

Materials

  • Pearl Zelon$10.503 packs
  • Other material: Coq de Leon fibers$22.505 packs · From the recipe row "Tail"
  • Superfine dubbing, yellow blending to olive$368 dispensers

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

With vise & tools

Size 16 · With vise & tools · 12 flies

$181.15

$15.10 a fly

Includes Dry-fly hook · and 16 more

Every item in this kit · 17 items

Hooks & beads

  • Dry-fly hook$6.501 × 25 · size 16

Thread & wire

  • Olive 8/0 thread$2.951 spool
  • Pale yellow 8/0 thread$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Pearl Zelon$3.501 pack
  • Other material: Coq de Leon fibers$4.501 pack · From the recipe row "Tail"
  • Superfine dubbing, yellow blending to olive$4.501 dispenser

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Tools

  • Rotary pedestal vise$791
  • Ceramic bobbin$141
  • Fine-point scissors$161
  • Whip finisher$91
  • Hackle pliers$71
  • Bodkin$51
  • Bobbin threader$41
  • Dubbing wax$41
  • Canvas tool roll$121

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 16 · With vise & tools · 48 flies

$191.09

$3.98 a fly

Bought separately $201.15 · you save $10.06

Includes Dry-fly hook · and 16 more

Every item in this kit · 17 items

Hooks & beads

  • Dry-fly hook$132 × 25 · size 16

Thread & wire

  • Olive 8/0 thread$2.951 spool
  • Pale yellow 8/0 thread$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Pearl Zelon$3.501 pack
  • Other material: Coq de Leon fibers$92 packs · From the recipe row "Tail"
  • Superfine dubbing, yellow blending to olive$13.503 dispensers

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Tools

  • Rotary pedestal vise$791
  • Ceramic bobbin$141
  • Fine-point scissors$161
  • Whip finisher$91
  • Hackle pliers$71
  • Bodkin$51
  • Bobbin threader$41
  • Dubbing wax$41
  • Canvas tool roll$121

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 16 · With vise & tools · 144 flies

$245.12

$1.70 a fly

Bought separately $278.55 · you save $33.43

Includes Dry-fly hook · and 16 more

Every item in this kit · 17 items

Hooks & beads

  • Dry-fly hook$351 × 100 + 2 × 25 · size 16

Thread & wire

  • Olive 8/0 thread$8.853 spools
  • Pale yellow 8/0 thread$9.753 spools

Materials

  • Pearl Zelon$10.503 packs
  • Other material: Coq de Leon fibers$22.505 packs · From the recipe row "Tail"
  • Superfine dubbing, yellow blending to olive$368 dispensers

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Tools

  • Rotary pedestal vise$791
  • Ceramic bobbin$141
  • Fine-point scissors$161
  • Whip finisher$91
  • Hackle pliers$71
  • Bodkin$51
  • Bobbin threader$41
  • Dubbing wax$41
  • Canvas tool roll$121

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

The creator

An illustrated portrait for Dekasso (an illustration, not a photograph)

Dekasso

@dekasso

Wherever the truck rolls to a stop.

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How it was made

1 iteration led here; the saved one is marked

  1. Iteration 1 of 11 Saved

Remixes

6 steps back

  1. Slate Ledge Grizzly Soft Hackle@dekasso · the original
  2. Grizzly Half Hackle Mayfly Dun@dekasso
  3. Evening Ember Sulphur Mayfly Dun@dekasso
  4. Thistledown CDC Olive Mayfly Dun@dekasso
  5. Bluebird Olive CDC Dun@dekasso
  6. Lemon Olive Sparkle Dun — a fly pattern by DekassoLemon Olive Sparkle Dun@dekasso
  7. Lemon Fade Olive Sparkle Dunyou are here

3 remixes of this

Frost Fan Cream Mayfly Dun — a fly pattern by Dekasso@dekassoTousled Wing BWO Emerger — a fly pattern by Dekasso@dekassoWindblown Pearl Olive Mayfly Dun — a fly pattern by Dekasso@dekasso

Where this came from

“make the body thinner and less fuzzy. have the yellow and green shift be more gradual and less defined.”

fly pattern · made

3 remixes · 1 save

83 — from 3 remixes and 1 save, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.

  • sparkle dun
  • mayfly
  • dry fly
  • olive
  • yellow
  • zelon
  • coq de leon
  • trout
  • size 16
  • hatch