Mahogany Dun
The Mahogany Dun imitates the important late-summer and early-fall emergences of dark reddish-brown mayflies including Isonychia and Paraleptophlebia. These hatches often coincide with the cooling of water temperatures and the first cold fronts of fall, producing some of the most exciting surface fishing of the season. The rich mahogany body paired with a slate dun hackle is accurate and effective. Fish it during late afternoon and evening hatches.
- Type
- dry fly (Mayfly)
- Hook sizes
- #14–16
- Target species
- trout
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best seasons
- summer, fall
Materials
- hook: Dry fly hook #14–16
- thread: Rust or mahogany 8/0
- tail: Dark dun hackle fibers
- body: Mahogany or rust-brown dubbing
- wing: Gray dun hen hackle tips or CDC
- hackle: Blue dun rooster hackle
Tying steps
- Mount a size 14–16 dry fly hook; start rust-brown thread at the bend.
- Tie in dark dun hackle fibers as a split tail.
- Dub a smooth mahogany-red body from bend to the 2/3 mark.
- Tie in gray or dark dun hen hackle tips or CDC as upright divided wings.
- Tie in a blue dun hackle and wind 4–5 turns.
- Build a small head; whip finish and cement.
- Apply a tiny drop of head cement to the thread head and let dry; keep cement away from the CDC wing.
- Inspect the wings — they should be upright, parallel, and separated from each other by about one hook gap width.
- Inspect the wings from the front — both CDC slips should be exactly the same height, perfectly parallel, and equally bright with no fibers crossing between them.