When to use it
- During the river's established PMD window.
- When feeding depth identifies a stage.
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Reviewed representative comparison← Fly Box
Pattern family · guide 42
Pale Morning Dun Patterns
A stage-based PMD family spanning nymphs, emergers, duns, cripples, soft hackles, and spinners.
- Size range
- Often #14–20; verify locally
- Colors reviewed
- cream, pale yellow, light olive, rust or amber spinner
- Imitates
- Pale Morning Dun mayfly stages
PMD names an insect group, not one fly. Pale nymphs, trailing-shuck emergers, upright or low-riding duns, cripples, and spent-wing spinners stay visibly separate.
Technical illustration
Representative forms
Pale Morning Dun Patterns stage map
A family-level comparison of PMD nymph, PMD emerger or cripple, PMD dun or spinner; no single drawing represents the whole family.
- View
- stage comparison map
- Color shown
- cream, pale yellow, light olive, and amber
- Look for
- pale nymph; trailing-shuck emerger; low or upright dun; spent spinner
On the water
Narrow the family.
The river, depth, insects, and fish behavior still decide the final presentation. These are reviewed starting points—not a claim about what is happening today.
How to fish it
- Start below before emergence, move to the film, then use dries or spinners only when surface behavior supports them.
Mistakes to avoid
- Using PMD as one exact fly name.
- Showing a Comparadun, Sparkle Dun, and spinner as interchangeable.
Variant control
Small changes matter.
This stage comparison keeps materially different forms labeled. It is a family guide, not a claim that one fly represents every stage or local species.
Representative stage forms
PMD names an insect group, not one fly. Pale nymphs, trailing-shuck emergers, upright or low-riding duns, cripples, and spent-wing spinners stay visibly separate.- Colors shown
- cream, pale yellow, light olive, rust or amber spinner
- Weighting
- Weight and buoyancy depend on the life stage and exact named pattern.
Review trail
Sources, rights, and limits.
Pattern facts were reviewed on 2026-07-12. Every image has its own rights record; photographed hand-tied flies may still vary slightly in proportion.