Dunt on the cover
I was pretty surprised to see my fly on the cover of Finnish fly fishing magazine Perhokalastus. The fly was tied last fall at the Finnish national fly tying competition and it was judged as the best classic fly of the competition. I’ll write more about the contest later this week.
I also added couple photos of a Dunt from my fly box with a closeup on the wing tie in point. Tying Dee wings is not as hard as many think but they do require some patience and a bit different approach. You must play with the angle of your thread when you tighten the wing so that the pressure will come parallel to the feather strip. One of the key things is that the wings should not overlap but be side by side on the top of the hook. You can tie the wings a bit on the sides of the hook if you prefer that look or straight on top for a perfectly vertical wing. Doesn’t really matter as long as you tie them symmetrically
Make sure that you have perfectly matched wings to begin with. It’s not enough that the pattern and color match but most importantly the strips should be the same size. If the base of the slips where you tie them on isn’t equally thick you will not have symmetrical wings. Other important factor is the platform where you mount the wings. You want it perfectly flat and high enough so that the hackle behind the wings doesn’t kick the wings up.
Here’s one of the many patterns for it, this time from Kelson’s The Salmon Fly.
Dunt
Tag: Silver twist and light blue silk.
Tail: A topping and teal.
Body: Yellow, orange, red-claret seal’s fur, in equal sections.
Ribs: Silver lace and silver tinsel.
Hackle: Black heron, from claret fur.
Throat: Teal.
Wings: Two strips of plain brown turkey with black bars and white tips.
Sides: Jungle, short and drooping over throat hackle.
