Sparkle Dun

The Sparkle Dun was originated by Craig Matthews of Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone. Very simple, inexpensive to tie but boy is it effective….particularly in smaller sizes. The trickiest part is the the wing. I am including two videos to give more detail.

Materials

Hook: Daiichi 1310 or any dry fly hook, #12 – 20

Thread: 8/0 Uni or 70 denier Danville brown, tan, yellow (PMD), olive dun, or black

Tail: Zelon – mayfly brown, olive brown, dun

Body: Superfine dubbing to match insect

Wing: Sparkle Dun or Comparadun deer hair – natural or dun

Directions:

1. Start thread behind eye of hook and wind halfway down hook shank, then halfway back towards eye. This is the proper tie-in point for deer hair. Placing thread on the hook in this manner prevents deer hair from spinning.

2. Clean and stack a bundle of deer hair. (check Sparkle Dun Deer Hair comments below – using wrong deer hair won’t allow hair to flair, the major reason tyers have problems with this fly).

3. Proper wing proportions should be length of hook.

4. Extend tips past hook eye and tie in with two loose thread wraps. Pull straight down so deer hair flares. Do not let go of butt ends and wrap 8 – 10 times evenly toward tail to firmly secure hair. Trim or tear butt ends. (If hair rotates around hook shank, use fewer fibers. Very important to wrap on thread base.)

5. Tie in hank of Zelon for tail, matching ends with deer hair to create body taper. I use 1/2 to 1/3 of hank for size 14 and 16.

6. Move thread to back of deer hair.

7. Sweep deer hair backwards to allow hair to stand straight up. Thread should be immediately behind deer hair. Sweep 1/3 of hair back and place 1 thread wrap securely in place by pulling straight down. (you’ll see hair flair and stand up). Sweep next 1/3 back and place 1 thread wrap securely in place and pull straight down. Sweep last 1/3 back and place 2 – 3 wraps at base of deer hair. This technique allows minimal thread wraps to stand deer hair up without a thread dam.

8. Wrap thread to hook barb.

9 Attach THIN amount of dubbing and wind forward, leaving one thread wrap behind deer hair (if you don’t, it will force hair forward). Bring dubbing directly in front of deer hair and begin figure eight wraps around hair. The first wrap behind hair, you’ll feel it snug tightly and force hair straight up. Remember, THIN dubbing will work better to create tapered body.

10. Whip finish behind hook eye.