Tying Craig Mathews' Pheasant Tail Sparkle Dun Fly

Introduction to the PT Sparkle Dun

• 💡 The Pheasant Tail Sparkle Dun is a variation of Craig Mathews' original Sparkle Dun, incorporating ringneck pheasant fibers into the abdomen.
• 🎯 This fly adds natural shimmer and segmentation without extra materials, making it a refined and effective pattern.
• 📚 The technique is detailed in the book "Pheasant Tail Simplicity", which explores using pheasant fibers in various fly patterns.

Materials and Hook Preparation

• 🎣 The demonstration uses an Umpqua XC 110BL hook in size 16, but the pattern can be adapted for different sizes.
• 🧵 Nano Silk thread is recommended: 50 denier for size 16, and 30 denier for smaller hooks (e.g., 18 or 20).
• ✅ The initial step involves creating a thread base on the front half of the hook shank, extending about a quarter of the way back.

Crafting the Wing and Shuck

• 🦌 The wing is formed using short, fine ginger bleached Varner deer hair, chosen to match local PMD mayflies.
• ✂️ A key technique involves flaring the deer hair with thread and then creating a thread band, avoiding a large traditional thread dam.
• 🌿 The shuck is tied in with brown Zeon at the bend of the hook, intended to be kept on top and trimmed later.

Abdomen and Unique Ribbing

• 🐛 The abdomen is constructed from five or six strands of ringneck pheasant tail fibers, wrapped with overlapping turns to create a taper.
• 🧵 A distinctive feature is the ribbing of the body with Nano Silk thread, rather than conventional copper wire.
• ✨ This thread ribbing creates a cross-hatched translucence, allowing a hint of the adult bug's color to peek through the pheasant tail, mimicking an emerging mayfly.

Thorax and Finishing Touches

• 🎨 The thorax is built with pale yellow superfine dubbing, which should be color-matched to the local mayfly species.
• 🦋 The dubbing is started just behind the wing, with the wing swept back, and the thread crossed to cover the tie-downs, tapering up to the hook eye.
• ✂️ The fly is finished with a whip finish, and the wing is spread to a 180-degree splay (or U-shape for a lower sit), with the shuck trimmed to shank length.

Effectiveness of the PT Sparkle Dun

• 🏆 This refined dry fly is described as durable, low-riding, and hyper-effective, especially when trout are feeding on fully developed duns.
• 🌊 Its design closely mimics mayfly duns breaking free from their nymphal shuck, a critical stage for trout feeding.
• 🎣 The PT Sparkle Dun is a versatile pattern that can be adapted for various mayfly hatches like PMD or BWO, making it a valuable addition to any fly box.