Bug Bite Series - Matching the Pale Morning Dun Like a Pro
Known as the Sulphur Dun in Montana, the Little Red Quill in the Midwest, and the Pale Morning Dun across the Rockies, the mayfly Ephemerella excrucians might go by many names, but the one thing it has in common wherever you find it is that trout LOVE TO EAT IT! Variants of this mayfly have been sampled in 38 of the 50 states, are found while they are typically found inhabiting moderate fast to slow moving streams and rivers, they have also been sampled in the inlets and outlets of lakes.
Matching The Pale Morning Dun Nymph
These moderate sized spiney nymphs are abundant in their season and will typically measure between 10-15mm (a size 14-16 hook) right before they “hatch”. Unlike their Spring predecessors, the free swimming “minnow” type Blue Winged Olive with their thin profiles and abdomens, the Pale Morning Dun is among the “Crawler” class of mayfly and is much thicker in diameter. The color of the nymph will very from Cinnamon to olive, with a bark brown being the most common coloration. Fish these larger PMD patterns May through June when the naturals are at their most abundant!
Our favorite early life stage PMD nymph imitations are the Pheasant Tail Nymph and the Split Case PMD in sizes 14-18.
It is in the months of May – June, when water temperatures rise between 58-62 degrees Fahrenheit that the nymphs mobile and start to swim towards the surface of the water. Using temperature and season as a guide, start tying on your emerging Pale Moring Dun Nymph patterns and fish them mid water column, allowing them to swing towards the surface at the end of your drift. Expect this emergence to happen from early afternoon to early evening.
The PMD emergence is one of the trout’s favorite courses in this meal! To fish it well, we recommend tying on a Greg’s Emerger PMD or Beadhead Flashback Barr’s Emerger PMD!
Matching The Emerging & Fully Emerged Dun
As more and more of the nymphs hit the surface of the water and begin their transition from the nymph to dun life stage, it is time to transition our fishing rigs to dry dun patterns. As the common name of this mayfly would suggest, most dry Pale Morning dun patterns will be a light yellow to cream color.
The first dries the trout will be looking to feed on will be the PMD Sparkle Dun or Parachute PMD Emerger that imitate the adult struggling through the surface of the water.
The fully emerged Dun will have 2 pairs of smokey wings held perpendicular up off of its thorax, a yellow to cream colored thorax and abdomen and 3 prominent thin tails. The most popular fully emerged dun pattern by far is the Parachute PMD, but I would argue that the lesser know and more realistic CDC light Cahill Comparadun is even more deadly!
Matching The Pale Morning Dun Spinner
The final course in the PMD feast is the spinner. After the cream-colored duns leave the water, they head into the streamside vegetation and within a few hours emerger a second time into their spinner form. The wings of the spinner are clear, and they still have 3 long tails, but their most evident transformation is their rusty, cinnamon color. In the evening the the spinners return to swarm and spawn over the river before returning to the surface to lay their eggs through the twilight hours.
Consider this life stage Dessert for the trout, and offering them a Parachute Red Quill or Rusty Spinner for some of the most explosive action of the day!
The PMD hatch is in full swing, so load your fly box with the patterns you need to match this hatch, and get ready for an awesome day on the water!
