Hook Size: 14
The Perfect Fly Yellow Quill Dun is an excellent imitation of the adult stage of life of the mayfly. It imitates the mayfly as it drifts or floats on the surface, drying it wet wings enough to fly off the water onto the banks, bushes or trees where it will eventually change into the spinner stage of life. It even imitates the dun down to two or three tails and it two upright wings. It is fished on the surface as a dry fly. It should be treated with floatant. The Yellow Quill is the Epeorus albertae which is also called the Pink Lady and sometimes the Slate Cream Dun.
Duns of the albertae species don’t stay on the surface very long. The trout will
eat them for certain but they probably eat more of the duns when they are
shedding their nymphal shucks than they do the duns on the surface of the
water. Of course, the fishing satisfaction and action is always better if you are
fishing a dry fly, so we always try it.
Presentation:
We stick with the up and slightly up and across presentations of the dry dun
imitation. Fish it in the current seams coming down the side of pockets behind
boulders and to the sides of pockets along the banks. The duns may not surface
until they are well below the pockets, so don’t fail to fish the dry fly downstream of
the pockets. Just follow the bubbles.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
