When to use it
- When mayflies sit low or struggle in the film.
- For selective risers in flatter water.
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Reviewed technical illustration← Fly Box
Emerger · guide 33
Sparkle Dun
Craig Mathews's low-riding mayfly pattern with a deer-hair fan wing and trailing Zelon-style shuck.
- Common size
- #12–22, matched to the hatch
- Colors reviewed
- olive BWO, cream PMD, pink-tan Hendrickson, brown drake
- Imitates
- emerging mayfly, mayfly dun attached to its shuck
A hackleless low body, upright semicircular deer-hair wing, and trailing synthetic shuck separate the Sparkle Dun from a plain Comparadun. Hatch-specific colors remain labeled variants.
Technical illustration
Identification views
Sparkle Dun reviewed side profile
A schematic profile emphasizing upright fan-shaped hair wing and trailing synthetic shuck.
- View
- reviewed side profile
- Color shown
- pink-tan body, dun deer-hair wing, brown shuck
- Look for
- upright fan-shaped hair wing; trailing synthetic shuck; low hackleless body; hatch-specific color
On the water
Understand it. Then fish it.
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
- Dead-drift flush in the film.
- Match body and shuck color to the hatch.
Mistakes to avoid
- Calling a shuckless Comparadun a Sparkle Dun.
- Showing a BWO version while labeling it PMD.
Variant control
Small changes matter.
Three reviewed technical illustrations show the identifying profile, construction, and fishing orientation. They are schematic field-guide aids, not photographs.
Reviewed core form
A hackleless low body, upright semicircular deer-hair wing, and trailing synthetic shuck separate the Sparkle Dun from a plain Comparadun. Hatch-specific colors remain labeled variants.- Colors shown
- olive BWO, cream PMD, pink-tan Hendrickson, brown drake
- Weighting
- Weighting is identified when it defines the reviewed form; other bead or weight choices remain labeled variants.
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.