The Comparadun is a classic spring creek pattern. It’s not only a great
mayfly emerger pattern, it also does double duty as a spent wing spinner
pattern. The fan shaped wing is visible under even the poorest lighting,
the bottoms of the wing are buoyant enough to float the fly, and the
shape of the wing guarantees an upright float.
I’m not sure who designed the Comparadun, but I can tell you Craig
Mathews, the owner of Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone Montana,
designed the Sparkle Dun; our second fly this week. A lot of western
anglers owe their most successful fishing days to some of Craig’s
patterns.
As you look at the two flies we’ll be tying this week, you’ll likely
notice they are very similar. In fact, the Sparkle Dun is nothing more
than a modification of the Comparadun. The only real difference is the
Sparkle Dun has a Z-Lon or antron tail instead of the traditional split
tail on the comparadun.
Some of you have probably already noticed that there’s a lot of
similarity between a lot of patterns you can find in fly pattern books.
That’s because local tyers, much like you and me, adjust, modify and
localize certain patterns to meet specific needs. It’s a common thing
that happens all the time. That’s how new patterns are developed, and
how this sport continues to evolve.
I’m all for adjusting, improvising, modifying and improving existing fly
patterns. If you’ve gained nothing else from this series, I hope you’ve
gained personalization of the flies you’ve learned to tie. I’m showing
you methods and techniques through the medium of selected fly patterns,
but I also stress that each and every fly you tie is yours, so you have
the liberty to tie it the way you want to suit your needs.
Hopefully, as you learn these techniques, you’re trying those techniques
on other patterns that use the same techniques. In that way, you’ll be
able to pick up any pattern book and use the techniques you’ve learned
here to tie any selection in that book. Of course, there are a few
techniques you haven’t learned yet, but then again, this series isn’t
over yet. However, each week you get a little closer to the accomplished
tyer you want to be.
This week, we’ll learn another technique: fan shaped wings. Once you’ve
learned to tie these wings with deer hair, you’ll have the skills to tie
them with CDC, snowshoe hare’s foot hair, synthetic fibers like antron,
or any other material that lends itself to the task.
Are you ready for a new challenge? Great! Let’s learn something new.
Originally published c. May 11, 2008 on Fly Anglers Online by Al Campbell.