Pale Evening Dun

NYMPH SIZE: 6-12 mm (1/4-1/2 in)

NYMPH COLOR: Dark olive-brown, dark brown

DUN SIZE: 7-15 mm (1/4-5/8 in)

DUN COLOR: Wing: pale yellow. Body: pale cream to tan.

SPINNER SIZE: 7-15 mm (1/4-5/8 in)

SPINNER COLOR: Wing: clear. Body: pale cream to tan.

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS: Nymphs flattened and have three tails; all gills are similar in size and shape. Duns and spinners have two tails and a flat head.

Mouse-over for alternate views: Nymph    Dun    Spinner

About Pale Evening Duns

Pale evening duns are clinger-type mayflies, so the nymphs inhabit moderate to fast flows with rocky bottoms. They are seldom available to trout until the hatch season, which ranges from June through September, depending on the locale.

When nearing maturity the nymphs migrate towards quiet water near shore, and you can drift a nymph near the bottom in these areas. Fishing the dun during a hatch is usually more productive, however. Since trout in slow water near the bank are particularly wary, your casts need to be precise and targeted to individual fish.

Spinners are important. Mating swarms gather over riffles and fast runs, and females dip their abdomens in the water to release their eggs. Spent spinners are usually swept into backeddies and other places where the current gathers drifting debris, and these are often the best places to cast a spinner imitation.

STAGE

PATTERN

SIZE/
COLOR

PRESENTATION

WHERE

Nymph

Hares Ear, Pheasant Tail, A. P. Nymph

10-16/Olive-brown, brown

Indicator, Tight line, Rising nymph, Shallow nymph

Bankwater

Emerger

Soft Hackle

10-16/Olive-brown, brown

Surface swing

Bankwater

Dun

Parachute Hares Ear, Sparkle Dun, Comparadun

10-16/Cream

Standard dry fly

Bankwater

Spinner

Hen Spinner

10-16/Tan

Standard dry fly

Backeddies, tailouts, seams