Yellow Rib Green Drake Dun
by @dekasso
Green Drake Dun · Dry fly
One tall wing against evening water
A Green Drake dry fly on a size 10 hook, olive with a yellow rib and a dun wing, for trout during the big drake hatch.
A Green Drake dun with a single dun wing standing tall over an olive body. Bright yellow floss bands the olive dubbing, and olive grizzly hackle flares beneath a long pheasant tail.
- Pattern
- Green Drake Dun
- Imitates
- Eastern Green Drake hatch, typically late May into June, best in the evening
- Hook
- size 10
- Tippet
- 3Xrule of three
- Size 10 dry hook for big drakes
- Yellow floss rib over olive dubbing
- Single upright dun hen wing
- Olive grizzly hackle for float
- Long pheasant tail fiber tail
On the water
Olive dubbing, four clean bands of yellow floss and a tail of pheasant fibers that reaches back past the bend. Up front a single dun wing rises like a sail, with olive grizzly hackle splayed out underneath.
Fish it when the big drakes start coming off the riffles and drifting into the glides at dusk. Lay it upstream of a rising trout and let it ride dead drift, no drag, wing up and catching the last light.
The dun hen saddle wing needs to be set upright and firm. Tie it in with a few tight turns, then build a small thread dam in front so it stands tall instead of folding back over the body.
Rigging
- Tippet
- 3Xhook size divided by three
- Leader
- Nine feet, tapered — longer and finer in flat water
- Rig on 4X tippet, 9 to 12 feet, to keep the large wing turning over cleanly.
- Dress the hackle and tail with floatant and fish a drag-free drift through the glide.
- At dusk, cast short and watch the wing; set on any rise near it.
Where and when
- Water
- West Branch of the Delaware, Catskills
- Hatch
- Eastern Green Drake hatch, typically late May into June, best in the evening
- Target
- Brown trout, Rainbow trout
- Water type
- Freestone rivers, smooth runs and long glides
- Also fishes
- Also works as a general big olive mayfly on slow pools and lake margins, and as a searching dry in pocket water before the hatch.
Also on this water
- HendricksonApr–May
- SulphurMay–Jun
- Green DrakeJun
Fished out of Hancock and Deposit.
Make it yourself
Intermediate6 materials · 11 steps
- Pattern
- Green Drake Dun
- Style
- Dry fly
- Hook
- Tiemco 5212size 10
- Thread
- Olive 6/0
Materials in the order they go on the hook
- TailPheasant tail fibers
- RibYellow floss
- BodyOlive dubbing
- WingDun hen saddle feather
- HackleOlive grizzly hackle
- HeadOlive thread
Details
- Imitates
- Green Drake
- Colors
- Olive, Yellow, Dun, Tan brown
How to tie it
The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (11)
- Mount the size 10 hook in the vise and lay an olive thread base from eye to bend.
- Tie in a slim bunch of pheasant tail fibers at the bend, about one and a half shank lengths long.
- Tie in the yellow floss at the bend and leave it hanging.
- Dub a slim, slightly tapered olive body to the 70 percent point of the shank.
- Wrap the yellow floss forward in four evenly spaced turns and tie off.
- Tie in the dun hen saddle feather by its stem, curve facing back, one shank length tall.
- Stand the wing upright and lock it with a small thread dam in front of the base.
- Tie in the olive grizzly hackle behind the wing, shiny side forward.
- Add a pinch of olive dubbing to cover the thread around the wing base.
- Wrap the hackle four or five turns behind and in front of the wing and tie off.
- Build a neat olive thread head, whip finish and trim.
Proportions (4)
- Tail: about one and a half times the shank length.
- Body: covers the rear 70 percent of the shank, slim and tapered.
- Wing: roughly one shank length tall, set upright.
- Hackle barbs: about one and a half times the hook gap.
Tips (3)
- Pick a hen saddle feather with a straight stem so the wing stands without twisting.
- Keep the dubbing thin so the yellow rib bands read clearly.
- Strip the fluff from the hackle stem before tying in for cleaner wraps.
Common mistakes (3)
- Wing leaning back: build a firm thread dam in front of it before hackling.
- Rib turns bunched together: count four wraps and space them by eye before tying off.
- Crowded eye: stop the body and hackle short so the head has room.
Every kit size
Materials only
Size 10 · Materials only · 12 flies
$52
$4.33 a fly
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$6.50
Thread & wire
- Olive 6/0 thread$2.95
- Yellow floss$3.25
Materials
- Pheasant tail fibers$4.95
- Olive dubbing$4.50
- Dun hen saddle feather$11.95
- Olive grizzly hackle$11.95
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 10 · Materials only · 48 flies
$90.06
$1.88 a fly
Bought separately $94.80 · you save $4.74
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$13
Thread & wire
- Olive 6/0 thread$5.90
- Yellow floss$3.25
Materials
- Pheasant tail fibers$9.90
- Olive dubbing$9
- Dun hen saddle feather$23.90
- Olive grizzly hackle$23.90
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 10 · Materials only · 144 flies
$224
$1.56 a fly
Bought separately $254.55 · you save $30.55
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$35
Thread & wire
- Olive 6/0 thread$17.70
- Yellow floss$9.75
Materials
- Pheasant tail fibers$24.75
- Olive dubbing$18
- Dun hen saddle feather$71.70
- Olive grizzly hackle$71.70
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
With vise & tools
Size 10 · With vise & tools · 12 flies
$202
$16.83 a fly
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$6.50
Thread & wire
- Olive 6/0 thread$2.95
- Yellow floss$3.25
Materials
- Pheasant tail fibers$4.95
- Olive dubbing$4.50
- Dun hen saddle feather$11.95
- Olive grizzly hackle$11.95
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 10 · With vise & tools · 48 flies
$232.56
$4.85 a fly
Bought separately $244.80 · you save $12.24
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$13
Thread & wire
- Olive 6/0 thread$5.90
- Yellow floss$3.25
Materials
- Pheasant tail fibers$9.90
- Olive dubbing$9
- Dun hen saddle feather$23.90
- Olive grizzly hackle$23.90
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 10 · With vise & tools · 144 flies
$356
$2.47 a fly
Bought separately $404.55 · you save $48.55
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$35
Thread & wire
- Olive 6/0 thread$17.70
- Yellow floss$9.75
Materials
- Pheasant tail fibers$24.75
- Olive dubbing$18
- Dun hen saddle feather$71.70
- Olive grizzly hackle$71.70
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
The creator
Remixes
No remixes yet — make your own version.
Where this came from
fly pattern · made
0 — nothing entered the score yet, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.
- green drake
- dry fly
- mayfly dun
- olive
- yellow rib
- trout
- evening hatch
- freestone
- size 10
- dun wing