The Dirty Duster

17 October 2004 | Page: 1

Courtney Williams (A Dictionary of Trout Flies) considered the old Grey Duster to be the best pattern for a mayfly hatch, but couldn’t say why. We know now. It’s the way the tail-less Duster floats. This clipped hackle, sunk-abdomen version improves on an all-time classic, and couldn’t be easier to tie.

This fly is a result of taking the idea behind the DHE and simplifying the design even more. Some of my pals find the DHE tricky to tie, I guess because it’s not a conventional hackle pattern.. Tying in the deer hair wing tips forward and then forcing it back with the thorax is not something they are used to doing. So, I reckoned that I’d make it easier for them by tying a sunk-abdomen emerger with no wing-post or tricky emerger style thorax to worry about. The Dirty Duster is a straight forward hackle pattern, tied on a curved emerger style hook.

I recommend a saddle hackle for this pattern.

Dirty Duster :

Hook: Kamasan B-100, or similar light wire curved emerger style Abdomen: Hare’s ear or other fur dubbing, mixed for colour if desired. Rib: Tying thread tag-end, left long after tying-in the thread. Wrap the tag-end counter-wise up the abdomen and tie off at the eye. This counter-rib traps the dubbing and adds a nice ’segmented’ effect. It also adds considerable durability to the fly. Hackle: Badger saddle, tied in at the eye and wound back through the thorax, a couple of turns, then forward through itself to the eye.

Take the tying thread back through the hackle, a couple of turns, and then forward again, criss-cross, and whip finish.

Clip the underside hackle so the fly sits flush with the surface. Apply floatant to the hackle only, avoiding the abdomen, which must sink.

That’s it. Quick and dirty. Tough as leather, too.

Read about it in the July 2004 issue of Fly Fishing & Fly Tying magazine.