Pale Morning Dun Nymph

Title:

Price:

$2.75

Product Category:

Mayflies

SKU:

M2501N-16

Many anglers consider the Pale Morning Dun (PMD) to be the most important fly in the West, even more important than the Blue Winged Olive fly. It has predictable hatches that cover a long period of time. There are two major almost identical species the infrequens and the inermis so the same Super Fly will imitate both of them.

The PMD nymphs are crawler nymphs who can not swim very well, but do manage to live for a year. Their exact coloration depends on the stream where they live. The PMDs are often found in the slow to moderate flowing waters of the streams and in the slower, calmer areas of streams that consist mainly of fast, pocket water. They are also found at the ends of long runs and riffles as well as the slower moving water on the inside of the river bends. They live between the cobble stones and small rocks on the bottom of the stream and they prefer to remain in areas of vegetation to avoid being eaten by the trout. None the less, due to their abundance, there usually more of these PMD nymphs in the stream than any other mayfly and plenty of them succumb to the trout. This makes the Perfect Fly nymph a good imitation to use.

Presentation:

You can fish an imitation of the nymph on the bottom anytime from the time the season opens until the PMD hatches have ended on that stream which can be several months. As mentioned during the tips on fishing the duns, the hatches normally start mid-morning. On days of the hatch, start fishing the nymph early in the morning and continue to fish it up until the hatch starts. Weight the nymph fly as necessary to ensure that it is on the bottom and Use a very short, up and across cast. Then follow the nymph downstream holding the rod tip high until the nymph is down and across. Make your next cast a few feet upstream from the previous cast. When making this short type of cast, be careful with your approach in order to not spook the trout.

In pocket water, prior to a hatch, I would fish the nymph imitation in the current seams and the through the long runs. Weight it down with and keep it on the bottom as much as possible. Use a very short, up and across cast and follow the nymph downstream holding the rod tip high. Continue until the nymph is down and across and then make another cast a couple of feet upstream of the previous one. You will have to approach the areas you are fishing carefully to avoid spooking the trout when you are making this short of a cast. In the smoother areas of water, make the cast much longer using an up and across presentation and be prepared to mend the line.

In smooth water you will need to make a much longer, up and across presentation and keep the nymph on the bottom by weighting the tippet a few inches above the fly and continuously mending the line. Fish the nymph until it is in the down and across position before making another cast. The current can very strong in smooth water so it will be difficult to keep a drag free drift. Watch the end of the fly line to detect a strike or for more confidence use a strike indicator.