Sulphur Micro Dun Part 1.2
Above photo: A size 24 Sulphur is one of my favorite patterns to fish on summer mornings.
When the fish are sporadically rising to passing little duns, a tiny pattern like this can often make or break your day's worth of fishing. I tie this one with a combination of yellow and peach Kapok and blend it thoroughly.
When you start getting down to hooks smaller than #20, you have to economize everything along a hook shank, especially on a short shank hook. As you can see in the photo above, the TMC 531 has a short shank and a wide gape, which is ideal for micropatterns. Hook-ups on the 531 are very positive, and I have a ton of confidence in these hooks in very small sizes. The pitfall is that you have limited space along the hook shank. Using Kapok allows me to keep the bulk down even in the thorax. The CDC wing is canted with a buildup of Kapok dubbing on each side of the wing base, in a darker peach color. Four turns of golden ginger hackle from an old Metz cape complements the color ways of this tiny Sulphur Dun.
Above photo: From a shot like this, you can see how I squirt hackle using a criss-cross wrap around the thorax. Only four turns of hackle are needed.
Above photo: Having a midge jaw on your vise makes it easier to get your hands around the hook with minimal interruption. The tails are simply stiff fibers from the largest feathers on the golden ginger Metz cape. These three fibers are split using a single loop strand of Semperfli Nano Silk, and the whole fly is tied using white Nano Silk in 18/0.
~Sulphur Micro-Dun~
Hook: TMC 531 #24
Thread: Semperfli Nano Silk 18/0 white
Tails: Hackle fibers Golden Ginger, or CDL Ginger Pardo
Body: Kapok yellow mixed with peach
Wing: CDC light ginger x2 small feathers
Hackle: Golden Ginger
This is a very simple pattern to tie in larger sizes, but as you move down to hooks #20 and smaller, it takes some practice and a lot of patience to get proportions correct. Don't drink too much coffee prior to tying these little guys. Again, be mindful of very gossamer materials and low bulk wraps.
~Cheers Clint Bova~
