This post was last updated on September 6th, 2014 at 12:09 am

The Blue Dun

This is a crazy simply fly to tie and has worked wonders for me on the river for years. Whether you are swinging the pattern, dropping it below a hopper or even tying it behind a streamer it just plain works!

I don’t think I need to go into how to tie this pattern, but I will tell you a great way to hook fish that might otherwise go uncaught using this and similar small wet flies. By tying this fly off the hook of your full sized streamer with 12-14″ inches ( just under 1 half meter) you can provoke finicky trout that are following your streamers but not committing. This small pattern looks a lot like a small baitfish, so the trout that are hesitant to eat the streamer will often eat this. They must thing it is chasing the larger fly and it triggers a reactionary strike more often than not.  The blue dun is so simple to tie using materials that almost every fly tier  already has, that there is no excuse to not have a few tucked away in your fly box. You can tie this using cheap saddle hackle and practically the only cost of the fly is the hook itself.