EmergeradvancedRocky Mountain West
$3.95
The CDC Transitional Dun occupies the narrow space between emerger and adult -- neither fully hatched nor still emerging, but caught in the vulnerable moment of transformation that trout find most appealing. The CDC wings provide both floatation and a realistic wing silhouette, while the trailing shuck anchors the rear of the fly in the film. It is a fly designed for the angler who has watched too many trout eat something they could not identify, right at the surface, and decided to tie a pattern that exists in both worlds at once. The trout approve. They always approve of vulnerability.
Henry's Fork
ID · Spring Creek
Missouri River
MT · Tailwater
South Platte River
CO · Tailwater
Map unavailable. Locations for CDC Transitional Dun: Henry's Fork, ID; Missouri River, MT; South Platte River, CO
seasonal playbook
Spring is the most dynamic season in fly fishing — water temperatures swing daily, hatches emerge in waves, and fish that have been dormant for months begin feeding with increasing urgency. This is your region-by-region playbook for fishing the awakening.
hatch guide
Mayflies are the foundation of trout-stream entomology. This guide covers every major hatch — BWOs, PMDs, Green Drakes, Sulphurs, Tricos, and Hendricksons — with the biology, timing, and fly selections you need to fish them effectively across the country.
hatch guide
Trout eat more insects during emergence than at any other stage. Emerger patterns — flies that imitate the critical moment when a nymph transforms into an adult in the surface film — are the most consistently effective dry flies in fly fishing. Here is the science and the technique behind fishing the in-between.
EmergerintermediateRocky Mountain West
#14 - #22
Cul-de-canard feather emerger. Natural oils in CDC float the fly in the film. Imitates a mayfly struggling to hatch.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout
EmergerintermediateRocky Mountain West
#12 - #18
Gary LaFontaine's caddis emerger. Antron sparkle yarn creates a bubble effect mimicking the gas sheath of an emerging caddis pupa.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout
EmergerintermediateRocky Mountain West
#16 - #22
John Barr's Blue Wing Olive emerger. Tungsten bead, trailing shuck, CDC wing. Designed for the transition zone between nymph and dun.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout
EmergerintermediateRocky Mountain West
#18 - #24
Rim Chung's minimalist emerger. CDC or beaver fur wing, thread body. Imitates emerging Baetis and midges in the surface film.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Dry FlybeginnerRocky Mountain West
#12 - #22
Tied by Andy Carlson
The universal dry fly. Grizzly hackle, white post, dubbed body. If you cannot identify the hatch, tie on an Adams.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout · Brook Trout · Mountain Whitefish
Dry FlybeginnerRocky Mountain West
#12 - #18
Tied by Chris Krueger
Al Troth's iconic caddis imitation. Elk hair wing, palmered hackle. Floats like a cork in fast water.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout · Brook Trout