Compressed Emergers & Duns
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Fly Talk by Mick Hall All pictures and flies tied by Mick Hall |
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Compressed Emerging Highland Dun tied reversed T.Lacustris Tied by Mick Hall |
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Tasmania’s Tasmanophlebia lacustris
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The Reversed Lambda “Compressed” Emerging Dun. Atalophlebia australis. Pic Mick Hall |
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This Lambda Dun (standard tie) lost its hackle during the battle |
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| Emerging dun patterns have become a fundamental component within the world of fly tying and fly fishing. Ever since G E M Skues put nymphs and emergers on the fly fishers’ map around the start of last century, thousands of patterns and fringe developments have appeared in print. In the last couple of decades we have seen the introduction of all sorts of fly patterns representing emergers, cripples and just about anything that gets stuck in the surface film. I have no argument about this as the meniscus is such an important feeding zone, we should concentrate on what happens there.
It was back in 2006 after attending the British fly fair as a guest fly tyer, that I met Roy Christie and discovered his philosophy on reversed flies. I was so impressed that we did a Fly Talk on Roy and his work. See Fly Talk Reversed Emergers #92 Sep/Oct 2008, or you can check it out on www.kossiedun.com.au Being a huge fan of reversed parachute hackled flies since that time, I have been actively developing a series of my own versions I call “compressed” parachute hackled emergers and duns. After a lot of testing by various people, they have proved that it is very successful. It should be noted that the patterns featured are an attempt to represent Australian Mayflies, dayflies e&. They can easily be adapted to match and local pattern as it is the compressed process that is the key to how this works. There are a number of key reasons why this compressed style of fly works so well.
But for non Australian customers you can buy direct. The tying of this fly is a bit tricky but after a bit of practice you will get the hang of it. The reason that I have selected the Penstock Brown is that it is a great general pattern that works equally as well on all waters where any mottled brown Mayfly appears or where any of the featured species occur. |
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Atalophlebia superba – The Penstock Brown
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Stage 1 The Pattern for the Compressed Penstock Brown as designed by Mick Hall Hook: Mustad 277E gold or nickel straight eye Size: 10 Thread: Dark brown, as fine as you can find, 10/0 or finer if possible Tail: Dark Pardo Coq de Leon fibres Ribbing: Stripped peacock herl Body: Dark brown dubbing, as fine as possible Wings: Enrico Puglisi Trigger Point wing fibres Dark March Brown and black as a fore-edge (See story of the Trigger Point fibres on www.kossiedun.com.au) Foam: 3 mil Evasote soft foam by Tiewell, stained with marking pen to match Hackle: Whiting Farms Dark Champagne saddle hackle four turns maximum. Note: I sourced this Mustad 277E hook whilst I was in Norway in November last year; I’ve spoken with Mustad Australia and they are going to bring some of these hooks in. For those interested, see your local retailer to get some in for you. I also twitch the eye of the hook slightly upward on this reversed model to assist when striking with a sunken tippet. At the same time I added a slight curve to the shank with a pair of small pliers to allow the butt section of the fly to sit under the water. |
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| Stage 1 is straight forward; tie in your tail at the eye then tie in your ribbing. Tie in your wings with the butt facing back towards the eye and wrap a few turns of thread to support your wing. Make sure you tie in your wings directly above your barb. Dub finely and rib your body four turns only and again, add a few more turns around your post for extra support. | ||
| Stage 2 | ||
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| It is from here on in that it gets a little tricky; first cut your foam strip around 3mm wide and 2.5cm long with sharp, straight bladed scissors. Secure to the side of your post facing you. You will need to go finer for smaller flies. | ||
| Stage 3 | ||
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| Take your foam around under the hook pulling firmly and secure to the other side of your post. You will notice that this process alone has spread the fibres of your wing, giving you a skinny profile, just like the real thing. | ||
| Stage 4 | ||
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| Tie in your hackle to the post, as shown, with the underside of the hackle facing you and wrap at least four turns of hackle from the top of supported area and wind carefully back down your post, trying not to pick any fibres from your last wrap. Tie off on your post; this is a little tricky as you can easily pick up a bunch of hackle fibres as you tie off, so do it slowly and carefully. Then add a touch of head cement to finish off. | ||
| Stage 5 | ||
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| Finally trim the foam close to the hackle so that it folds back on itself; this in turn compresses the hackle. It is best not to cut too closely as you need those foam tags to fold back and do their trick. You can colour the foam with a marking pen to match if you so wish.
Note: It should be noted that this pattern is just one of many; it is the compressed procedure that is the key. This design can be adapted to suit any mayfly or emerging caddis pattern. The method can also be tied as a floating dun; the choice is yours. |
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The Penstock Brown tied as a parachute hackled dun and as a reversed emerger |
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Highland Dun Tasmanophlebia lacustris
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Compressed Highland Dun Emerger Compressed Highland Dun Emerger with trailing shuck |
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Compressed Snowflake Caddis |
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| The pattern used for the Compressed Snowflake is really straight forward yet when comparing the pattern to the original, you have to use a bit of imagination. However it is the way it sits in the water that creates its effectiveness. The hook is a straight eye, light weight bronzed maggot hook that I again picked up whilst at the factory in Norway. It has a number of features that I like; apart from being light weight, it has a straight eye and the other is that slight limerick touch to the bend of the hook.
The compressed Snowflake Caddis as developed by Mick Hall Hook: Mustad 90338NBR Size: 12 or to suit Body: Grey dubbing Post: Enrico Puglisi’s Trigger Point wing material Colour: Dark Dun Foam: 3 mil soft Evasote foam by Tiewell White or grey, cut to size Hackle: Whiting Farms Grizzle Saddle hackle. Note: This pattern really sits low in the water and can represent an emerger, cripple or spent caddis, which makes it a very versatile fly pattern. |
