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Ginger Split Tail Mayfly Dun

by @dekasso

Ginger Split Tail Mayfly Dun — a fly pattern by Dekasso
More by @dekasso

Dry fly

Honey light on an evening glide

A size 14 golden mayfly dun with a split ginger tail and ribbed floss body, for trout rising to pale evening hatches.

A golden mayfly dun with long split tails and a ginger wing swept back over its body. The body is golden yellow floss banded with brown thread, finished with a soft ginger hackle and a yellow head.

Imitates
Sulphur and pale morning dun hatches
When
typically late-spring and early-summer evenings
Hook
size 14
Tippet
5Xrule of three
  • Split ginger tail forks like a real dun
  • Golden floss body with brown thread rib
  • Swept ginger wing over the body
  • Sized 14 for pale evening hatches

On the water

A dry fly riding the surface of a trout river

Two long ginger tails fork wide behind the bend. The body glows golden yellow, cut into neat segments by thin brown bands. A ginger wing lies back over it, and a loose collar of ginger hackle sits behind a small yellow head.

Fish it when pale mayflies start drifting off the riffles and trout settle into the glides below. Cast a few feet above a riser and let it ride drag-free. If it sits low after a few drifts, a quick false cast dries the hackle.

The split tail is the part to get right. A small ball of thread at the bend lets the two fibers fan apart, and that fork props the back of the fly on the surface the way a real dun sits.

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 9 to 12 feet of leader tapering to 5X or 6X tippet.
  • Dead-drift it in the film; mend early so the fly never skates.
  • A light touch of floatant on the hackle and wing keeps it riding up.

Where and when

Hatch
Sulphur and pale morning dun hatchestypically late-spring and early-summer evenings
Target
Trout
Water type
Riffles, smooth glides and slow pool tails
Also fishes
Also drifts well on spring creeks and slow tailwater flats when light-coloured mayflies are on the water.

Make it yourself

Intermediate6 materials · 10 steps

Style
Dry fly
Hook
Dry-fly hooksize 14
Thread
Yellow 8/0
Fly-tying materials laid out on a dark bench

Materials in the order they go on the hook

  1. TailGinger hackle fibers, split
  2. RibBrown thread
  3. BodyGolden yellow floss
  4. WingGinger hackle fibers
  5. HackleGinger dry-fly hackle
  6. HeadYellow thread

Details

Imitates
Mayfly dun
Colors
Golden yellow, Ginger, Brown
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 size 14 dry-fly hook and start the yellow thread behind the eye, then wrap a thin base back to the bend.
  2. Build a tiny ball of thread at the bend to act as a splitter.
  3. Tie in two ginger hackle fibers, one each side of the thread ball, so they fork apart at about a body length.
  4. Tie in the brown thread rib at the bend and leave it hanging.
  5. Tie in golden yellow floss and wrap a slim, tapered body forward to about 70 percent of the shank.
  6. Spiral the brown thread rib forward in five or six even turns, tie off and trim.
  7. Tie in a bunch of ginger hackle fibers on top, swept back so the tips reach just past the bend.
  8. Tie in the ginger dry-fly hackle by the stem, shiny side forward.
  9. Wrap the hackle in three or four close turns ahead of the wing and tie off.
  10. Build a small, neat yellow thread head, whip finish and trim.
Proportions (4)
  • Tail: each split fiber about one full hook length, flared at roughly 30 degrees.
  • Body: slim and tapered, covering the rear 70 percent of the shank.
  • Wing: tips reach just past the bend, lying low over the body.
  • Hackle: fibers about one and a half times the hook gap.
Tips (4)
  • Keep the thread splitter small; a big ball spreads the tails too wide and looks clumsy.
  • Untwist the floss flat as you wrap so the body stays smooth and glossy.
  • Space the rib evenly; the brown bands are what make the body read as segmented.
  • Strip the soft fluff from the hackle stem before tying in so the collar stays stiff.
Common mistakes (4)
  • Tails that collapse together: add one turn of thread between them to lock the fork open.
  • A lumpy body from bunched floss: wrap it flat and cover the tie-ins first with thread.
  • Crowding the eye: stop the body early and leave room for hackle and head.
  • Overdressed hackle: three or four turns is plenty for a dun this size.
A dozen-fly materials kit laid out on slate with its recipe card.
The kit

Every kit size

Materials only

Size 14 · Materials only · 12 flies

$59

$4.92 a fly

Includes Dry-fly hook · and 8 more

Every item in this kit · 9 items

Hooks & beads

  • Dry-fly hook$6.501 × 25 · size 14

Thread & wire

  • Yellow 8/0 thread$2.951 spool
  • Brown thread$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Ginger hackle fibers, split$11.951 saddle pack
  • Other material: Golden yellow floss$4.501 pack · From the recipe row "Body"
  • Ginger hackle fibers$11.951 saddle pack
  • Ginger dry-fly hackle$11.951 saddle pack

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 14 · Materials only · 48 flies

$103.36

$2.15 a fly

Bought separately $108.80 · you save $5.44

Includes Dry-fly hook · and 8 more

Every item in this kit · 9 items

Hooks & beads

  • Dry-fly hook$132 × 25 · size 14

Thread & wire

  • Yellow 8/0 thread$5.902 spools
  • Brown thread$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Ginger hackle fibers, split$23.902 saddle packs
  • Other material: Golden yellow floss$92 packs · From the recipe row "Body"
  • Ginger hackle fibers$23.902 saddle packs
  • Ginger dry-fly hackle$23.902 saddle packs

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 14 · Materials only · 144 flies

$269.28

$1.87 a fly

Bought separately $306 · you save $36.72

Includes Dry-fly hook · and 8 more

Every item in this kit · 9 items

Hooks & beads

  • Dry-fly hook$351 × 100 + 2 × 25 · size 14

Thread & wire

  • Yellow 8/0 thread$17.706 spools
  • Brown thread$9.753 spools

Materials

  • Ginger hackle fibers, split$71.706 saddle packs
  • Other material: Golden yellow floss$22.505 packs · From the recipe row "Body"
  • Ginger hackle fibers$71.706 saddle packs
  • Ginger dry-fly hackle$71.706 saddle packs

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

With vise & tools

Size 14 · With vise & tools · 12 flies

$209

$17.42 a fly

Includes Dry-fly hook · and 17 more

Every item in this kit · 18 items

Hooks & beads

  • Dry-fly hook$6.501 × 25 · size 14

Thread & wire

  • Yellow 8/0 thread$2.951 spool
  • Brown thread$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Ginger hackle fibers, split$11.951 saddle pack
  • Other material: Golden yellow floss$4.501 pack · From the recipe row "Body"
  • Ginger hackle fibers$11.951 saddle pack
  • Ginger dry-fly hackle$11.951 saddle pack

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 14 · With vise & tools · 48 flies

$245.86

$5.12 a fly

Bought separately $258.80 · you save $12.94

Includes Dry-fly hook · and 17 more

Every item in this kit · 18 items

Hooks & beads

  • Dry-fly hook$132 × 25 · size 14

Thread & wire

  • Yellow 8/0 thread$5.902 spools
  • Brown thread$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Ginger hackle fibers, split$23.902 saddle packs
  • Other material: Golden yellow floss$92 packs · From the recipe row "Body"
  • Ginger hackle fibers$23.902 saddle packs
  • Ginger dry-fly hackle$23.902 saddle packs

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 14 · With vise & tools · 144 flies

$401.28

$2.79 a fly

Bought separately $456 · you save $54.72

Includes Dry-fly hook · and 17 more

Every item in this kit · 18 items

Hooks & beads

  • Dry-fly hook$351 × 100 + 2 × 25 · size 14

Thread & wire

  • Yellow 8/0 thread$17.706 spools
  • Brown thread$9.753 spools

Materials

  • Ginger hackle fibers, split$71.706 saddle packs
  • Other material: Golden yellow floss$22.505 packs · From the recipe row "Body"
  • Ginger hackle fibers$71.706 saddle packs
  • Ginger dry-fly hackle$71.706 saddle packs

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

3 iterations led here; the saved one is marked

  1. Iteration 1 of 31
  2. Iteration 2 of 32
  3. Iteration 3 of 33 Saved

Remixes

3 steps back

  1. Smoke Wing Thread Body Caddis@dekasso · the original
  2. Amber Glass Caddis Emerger@dekasso
  3. Amber Quill Caddis Dry Fly — a fly pattern by DekassoAmber Quill Caddis Dry Fly@dekasso
  4. Ginger Split Tail Mayfly Dunyou are here

No remixes yet — make your own version.

Where this came from

“give it a split tail like a proper may fly tail”

fly pattern · made

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  • mayfly
  • dun
  • dry fly
  • split tail
  • ginger
  • golden
  • floss body
  • trout
  • sulphur
  • pale morning dun
  • size 14