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Ember Rib Olive CDC Dun

by @dekasso

Ember Rib Olive CDC Dun — a fly pattern by Dekasso
More by @dekasso

CDC Dun · Dry fly

A white sail over quiet olive water

A size 16 CDC dun with an orange-ribbed olive body and white wing, for trout and grayling rising to olive mayflies.

An olive mayfly dun sits upright on a slab of dark slate, its white wing raised like a sail. Bright orange wire bands a pale olive floss body, with split speckled Coq de Leon tails behind.

Pattern
CDC Dun
Imitates
Olive mayfly duns, typically spring and autumn afternoons
Hook
size 16
Tippet
5Xrule of three
  • Split Coq de Leon tails for balance
  • Orange wire rib over olive floss
  • White CDC wing easy to track
  • Sized 16 for olive mayfly hatches

On the water

A dry fly riding the surface of a trout river

Orange wire bands a pale olive floss body. A fluffy white CDC wing stands tall over a small olive thorax, and long speckled tails splay out behind like a hatching dun.

Fish it on smooth runs and flats when olives come off in the afternoon. Cast upstream of a rise, mend early and let it ride dead drift. The white wing stays easy to follow on dull water.

Coq de Leon tails are the outrigger here. Split them into two clean bunches so the dun lands upright and settles low in the film.

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
  • Rig on 5X or 6X tippet and grease nothing on the CDC wing; dry it with a puff of amadou.
  • Present with a drag-free drift, leading the fish by a short distance.
  • After a fish, rinse and squeeze the wing dry before the next cast.

Where and when

Hatch
Olive mayfly duns, typically spring and autumn afternoons
Target
Trout, Grayling
Water type
Smooth runs, glassy flats and slow pools
Also fishes
Slow glides on spring creeks and stillwater margins during sparse mayfly emergences.

Make it yourself

Intermediate6 materials · 9 steps

Pattern
CDC Dun
Style
Dry fly
Hook
Tiemco 100size 16
Thread
Olive 8/0
Fly-tying materials laid out on a dark bench

Materials in the order they go on the hook

  1. TailCoq de Leon fibres, split
  2. RibOrange Ultra Wire, small
  3. BodyPale olive floss
  4. WingWhite CDC feathers
  5. ThoraxOlive superfine dubbing
  6. HeadOlive 8/0 thread

Details

Imitates
Mayfly dun
Colors
Olive, Orange, White, Grey
A fly-tying vise holding a bare hook on a wooden bench

How to tie it

The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (9)
  1. Mount the hook and lay a thread base from eye to bend with the olive 8/0.
  2. Make a small thread bump at the bend and tie in Coq de Leon fibres, splitting them around the bump into two tails.
  3. Tie in the orange wire at the bend along the underside of the shank.
  4. Tie in the pale olive floss and wrap a slim, tapered body to about two-thirds up the shank.
  5. Counter-wrap the orange wire in five or six even open turns over the floss and tie off.
  6. Stack two white CDC feathers tips together and tie them in upright just behind the eye.
  7. Post the wing upright with a few thread wraps in front of its base.
  8. Dub a small olive thorax around the wing base and up to the eye.
  9. Form a neat olive thread head and whip finish.
Proportions (4)
  • Tails one and a half times the shank length, split in a wide V.
  • Body covers the rear two-thirds of the shank with a slim taper.
  • Wing about one shank length tall, upright over the thorax.
  • Thorax small, no wider than the rear of the body.
Tips (3)
  • Keep the floss flat as you wrap so the body stays smooth under the rib.
  • Space the wire turns evenly; the orange bands are the signature of this fly.
  • Trim the CDC butts at an angle so the thorax beds down without a lump.
Common mistakes (3)
  • Tails bunched together let the fly tip over; use a thread bump to force the split.
  • An overdressed thorax hides the wing base; dub sparingly and twist the dubbing tight.
  • A wing tied too far back unbalances the fly; leave a clear eye length behind the hook eye.
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

$39.10

$3.26 a fly

Includes Tiemco 100 · and 8 more

Every item in this kit · 9 items

Hooks & beads

  • Tiemco 100$6.501 × 25 · size 16

Thread & wire

  • Olive 8/0 thread$2.951 spool
  • Orange Ultra Wire, small$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Other material: Coq de Leon fibres, split$4.501 pack · From the recipe row "Tail"
  • Other material: Pale olive floss$4.501 pack · From the recipe row "Body"
  • White CDC feathers$6.951 pack
  • Olive superfine dubbing$4.501 dispenser

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 16 · Materials only · 48 flies

$72.15

$1.50 a fly

Bought separately $75.95 · you save $3.80

Includes Tiemco 100 · and 8 more

Every item in this kit · 9 items

Hooks & beads

  • Tiemco 100$132 × 25 · size 16

Thread & wire

  • Olive 8/0 thread$5.902 spools
  • Orange Ultra Wire, small$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Other material: Coq de Leon fibres, split$92 packs · From the recipe row "Tail"
  • Other material: Pale olive floss$92 packs · From the recipe row "Body"
  • White CDC feathers$20.853 packs
  • Olive superfine dubbing$92 dispensers

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 16 · Materials only · 144 flies

$164.56

$1.14 a fly

Bought separately $187 · you save $22.44

Includes Tiemco 100 · and 8 more

Every item in this kit · 9 items

Hooks & beads

  • Tiemco 100$351 × 100 + 2 × 25 · size 16

Thread & wire

  • Olive 8/0 thread$17.706 spools
  • Orange Ultra Wire, small$9.753 spools

Materials

  • Other material: Coq de Leon fibres, split$22.505 packs · From the recipe row "Tail"
  • Other material: Pale olive floss$22.505 packs · From the recipe row "Body"
  • White CDC feathers$55.608 packs
  • Olive superfine dubbing$184 dispensers

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

With vise & tools

Size 16 · With vise & tools · 12 flies

$189.10

$15.76 a fly

Includes Tiemco 100 · and 17 more

Every item in this kit · 18 items

Hooks & beads

  • Tiemco 100$6.501 × 25 · size 16

Thread & wire

  • Olive 8/0 thread$2.951 spool
  • Orange Ultra Wire, small$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Other material: Coq de Leon fibres, split$4.501 pack · From the recipe row "Tail"
  • Other material: Pale olive floss$4.501 pack · From the recipe row "Body"
  • White CDC feathers$6.951 pack
  • Olive superfine dubbing$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

$214.65

$4.47 a fly

Bought separately $225.95 · you save $11.30

Includes Tiemco 100 · and 17 more

Every item in this kit · 18 items

Hooks & beads

  • Tiemco 100$132 × 25 · size 16

Thread & wire

  • Olive 8/0 thread$5.902 spools
  • Orange Ultra Wire, small$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Other material: Coq de Leon fibres, split$92 packs · From the recipe row "Tail"
  • Other material: Pale olive floss$92 packs · From the recipe row "Body"
  • White CDC feathers$20.853 packs
  • Olive superfine dubbing$92 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

$296.56

$2.06 a fly

Bought separately $337 · you save $40.44

Includes Tiemco 100 · and 17 more

Every item in this kit · 18 items

Hooks & beads

  • Tiemco 100$351 × 100 + 2 × 25 · size 16

Thread & wire

  • Olive 8/0 thread$17.706 spools
  • Orange Ultra Wire, small$9.753 spools

Materials

  • Other material: Coq de Leon fibres, split$22.505 packs · From the recipe row "Tail"
  • Other material: Pale olive floss$22.505 packs · From the recipe row "Body"
  • White CDC feathers$55.608 packs
  • Olive superfine dubbing$184 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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See everything by @dekasso

How it was made

1 iteration led here; the saved one is marked

  1. Iteration 1 of 11 Saved

Remixes

5 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 — a fly pattern by DekassoBluebird Olive CDC Dun@dekasso
  6. Ember Rib Olive CDC Dunyou are here

No remixes yet — make your own version.

Where this came from

“make the rib less of a blue and more of a orange”

fly pattern · made

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  • cdc dun
  • mayfly
  • dry fly
  • olive
  • orange rib
  • white wing
  • coq de leon
  • split tail
  • trout
  • grayling