Terms D
~ D ~
Dark Ginger Hackle:
From brown Leghorn chickens, just a darker shade of tan.
Dee:
Salmon fly tied with narrow wings, slightly divided, flat on top, tips extend just beyond hook
bend. Also - a streamer fly tied like a reverse matuka, with feather fibers divided along the belly of
the fly. Also called Spring and Spring Salmon.
Deer:
Deer body hair is hollow, providing a flotation when used as body material. Comes in various
shades from light gray to deep brown. A very versatile hair for the fly tiers. Deer tails provide the
bucktail used in streamer winds. Deer belly hair is white. Common deer are Eastern Whitetail and Western
Blacktail and Mule Deer. Asiatic Sika deer also provide some nearly red shades of hair.
Design, Fly:
Describes the use of a fly as: trout, salmon, steelhead, lake, bass, tarpon, wet, dry, streamer,
nymph, pupa, etc.
Detached Body:
Process of building a body extension out beyond the bend of the hook to simulate the extra long
bodies of some mayflies. Wire, monofilament and deer body or bucktail hair are usually used, with
material wound on the base thus provided.
DFM:
Daylight Fluorescent Material - of floss usually. Trade name “Gantron”. Two main types used as fly
tying materials are DFM and DRF (Depth Ray Fire).
Divided Wing:
Formed with two matched wing sections placed downwing, on wet flies or streamers, with concave
sides outward, with tips of sections pointed upwards. The slight division formed allows wings to “work”
in water action. Also divided wings can be placed upright on dry flies as separated wings.
See - Flat Wings.
Dk:
Dark.
Dominique:
Another name for grizzly, Plymouth Rock or Barred Rock hackle. Also - Dominick.
Dotterel:
A type of Plover, the mottled wing feathers make good winging material for flies.
Double Wing:
Tera refers to four wings. Two per side.
Downwing:
Wing materials so attached as to flow backwards along body top. Used in most wet flies and
streamers. Sometimes slightly divided.
Drake:
The male of duck species. Also, another name for Mayfly, of British origin.
Dresser:
Fly dresser. Term given to a fly tier in Europe and British empire.
Dressing, Fly:
The recipe of component parts which make up a fly pattern. Includes the order of application,
usually, of the various parts. A list of materials and how to assemble them.
DRF:
See - DFM.
Dry Fly Hackle:
Hackle with a minimum of webbing, stiff and resilient, which has a shine and appears full of
springy life.
Dry Tied Hackles:
Hackle tied with concave side toward the head of the hook.
Dry Hackle:
See - Dry Fly Hackle.
Dub:
Abbreviation of Dubbing, or to dub or dubbed. Process of applying fur to a waxed thread and then
winding on shank to make a body form.
See - Dubbin and Dubbing.
Dubbin:
Colloquial for Dubbing.
Dubbing:
Refers to a fur material, or mixture, or blend of furs, suitable to making fur
bodies for flies. Also the process of twisting fur on to a waxed thread in order to
make a workable substance for application as a fur body. Sometimes refers to the
process of picking out hairs or fibers from fur bodies with a dubbing needle to
form psuedo legs or to enlarge thorax areas of fly bodies. Other materials such as
Kapok are also used as dubbing material.
Dun:
Color - usually some shade of gray. Also the sub imago stage of a mayfly.
Dun Hackle:
Gray-brown to medium gray, sometimes with a tinge of blue.
Originally published c. 2003 on Fly Anglers Online.