Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”
by Rusty Dunn
Have you ever thought about the technology that connects you to a running trout? Your rod is a marvel of engineering. It is a hollow tube of graphite composites embedded in epoxy and precisely tapered. It is as light as a feather and stronger than steel. Your fly line floats on miracle plastics infused with micro-bubbles and coated with a secret sauce more slippery than black ice. Your leader blends nylon and other synthetics into a copolymer filament stronger than Spiderman’s web. The complete outfit is a wonder of petrochemical engineering. But what about the fly you tie to the business end of the leader? How much petrochemistry does it contain? If you are an extreme purist or an avowed geezer, your flies are likely tied only of fur and feather – just the way Isaak Walton intended. But if you learned to fly fish in the last 30 or 40 years, your flies probably contain a good dose of synthetic materials. Indeed, many flies today owe more to the influence of DuPont Chemical than Isaak Walton.
Nylon is a mainstay of fly fishing and fly tying. It was invented by DuPont as a stronger and more durable substitute for natural silk. Nylon was introduced commercially in 1938, and the ensuing 20-30 years was a period of great discovery in synthetic chemistry. Polymer chemists at DuPont and elsewhere developed miracle synthetics such as nylon, neoprene, polypropylene, epoxy, polyester, Mylar, silicone, and many others. Where would we be without synthetics? Your Chernobyl Ant would be nothing but a hook and thread … silk thread!
Fly tying traditions evolve slowly, and synthetic materials were uncommon in flies until in the late 1970s. John Betts, a remarkably clever and creative angler from Boulder, CO, was instrumental in popularizing synthetics in fly tying. He realized that the textures, colors, and appearance of synthetics are not found in the natural world. Synthetics add sparkle, float well, are easy to handle when tying, and are often less variable than natural materials. As Betts said, “With synthetics, you don’t have to worry if the rabbit slept on his left or right side.” Betts wrote of the unique properties of synthetics in magazine articles and in his influential 1980 book Synthetic Flies.
Betts’ innovative contributions to fly tying earned him the nickname “Mr. Synthetics”. He prowled fabric, bridal, lingerie, and craft shops in search of new materials. He discovered synthetic organza, a stiff sparkly nylon that makes excellent spinner wings. He introduced fine polypropylene as a buoyant dubbing and winging material. He invented creative uses for poly yarn, including poly wings and drawn melted tips of extended mayfly bodies. He introduced the tapered nylon fibers of White Sable artist’s brushes for dry fly tailing and named the material “microfibetts”. Betts is perhaps best known for his introduction in 1985 of “Z-lon”, a sparkly but supple form of nylon. Z-lon is finer than Antron (rug yarn), more supple, does not mat when wet, and makes excellent tails, bodies, and wings.
Z-lon is perhaps best known as a tailing material in emerger patterns, where it imitates the trailing shuck (nymphal skin) attached to and trailing behind an emerging adult. Craig Mathews’ and John Juracek’s Sparkle Dun is an elegantly simple and remarkably effective mayfly emerger whose popularity and success stems from its Z-lon tail. The pattern originated in the 1980s and is similar both to Fran Betters’ Haystack of the 1950s and to Caucci & Nastasi’s Comparaduns of the 1970s. Only the tails differ on these three patterns, with Sparkle Duns having tails of Z-lon to imitate a trailing shuck. The Sparkle Dun’s low-floating design and glistening translucent tail make it an excellent imitation of mayfly emergers and newly hatched duns. Add a little petrochemistry to your favorite emerger and you will discover the genius of John Betts … “better fishing through chemistry”.
Copyright 2021, Rusty Dunn
Sparkle Dun
The sizes and colors of Sparkle Duns can be varied to match emerging duns of any mayfly you encounter.
| Hook: |
Dry fly, #10 – #24 |
| Thread: |
6/0, 8/0, or 12/0 to match the hook size; color to match the natural |
| Tail: |
Z-lon or other nylon fibers, brown, light brown, ginger, or olive-brown to match natural; tied sparsely; length from one-half to a full shank length |
| Body: |
Natural or synthetic dry fly dubbing to match natural |
| Wings: |
Natural deer hair, posted upright and spread laterally to a full semicircle. |
Sparkle Dun
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Last Updated: November 29, 2021 by Drew Kasel
by Rusty Dunn
Have you ever thought about the technology that connects you to a running trout? Your rod is a marvel of engineering. It is a hollow tube of graphite composites embedded in epoxy and precisely tapered. It is as light as a feather and stronger than steel. Your fly line floats on miracle plastics infused with micro-bubbles and coated with a secret sauce more slippery than black ice. Your leader blends nylon and other synthetics into a copolymer filament stronger than Spiderman’s web. The complete outfit is a wonder of petrochemical engineering. But what about the fly you tie to the business end of the leader? How much petrochemistry does it contain? If you are an extreme purist or an avowed geezer, your flies are likely tied only of fur and feather – just the way Isaak Walton intended. But if you learned to fly fish in the last 30 or 40 years, your flies probably contain a good dose of synthetic materials. Indeed, many flies today owe more to the influence of DuPont Chemical than Isaak Walton.
Nylon is a mainstay of fly fishing and fly tying. It was invented by DuPont as a stronger and more durable substitute for natural silk. Nylon was introduced commercially in 1938, and the ensuing 20-30 years was a period of great discovery in synthetic chemistry. Polymer chemists at DuPont and elsewhere developed miracle synthetics such as nylon, neoprene, polypropylene, epoxy, polyester, Mylar, silicone, and many others. Where would we be without synthetics? Your Chernobyl Ant would be nothing but a hook and thread … silk thread!
Fly tying traditions evolve slowly, and synthetic materials were uncommon in flies until in the late 1970s. John Betts, a remarkably clever and creative angler from Boulder, CO, was instrumental in popularizing synthetics in fly tying. He realized that the textures, colors, and appearance of synthetics are not found in the natural world. Synthetics add sparkle, float well, are easy to handle when tying, and are often less variable than natural materials. As Betts said, “With synthetics, you don’t have to worry if the rabbit slept on his left or right side.” Betts wrote of the unique properties of synthetics in magazine articles and in his influential 1980 book Synthetic Flies.
Betts’ innovative contributions to fly tying earned him the nickname “Mr. Synthetics”. He prowled fabric, bridal, lingerie, and craft shops in search of new materials. He discovered synthetic organza, a stiff sparkly nylon that makes excellent spinner wings. He introduced fine polypropylene as a buoyant dubbing and winging material. He invented creative uses for poly yarn, including poly wings and drawn melted tips of extended mayfly bodies. He introduced the tapered nylon fibers of White Sable artist’s brushes for dry fly tailing and named the material “microfibetts”. Betts is perhaps best known for his introduction in 1985 of “Z-lon”, a sparkly but supple form of nylon. Z-lon is finer than Antron (rug yarn), more supple, does not mat when wet, and makes excellent tails, bodies, and wings.
Z-lon is perhaps best known as a tailing material in emerger patterns, where it imitates the trailing shuck (nymphal skin) attached to and trailing behind an emerging adult. Craig Mathews’ and John Juracek’s Sparkle Dun is an elegantly simple and remarkably effective mayfly emerger whose popularity and success stems from its Z-lon tail. The pattern originated in the 1980s and is similar both to Fran Betters’ Haystack of the 1950s and to Caucci & Nastasi’s Comparaduns of the 1970s. Only the tails differ on these three patterns, with Sparkle Duns having tails of Z-lon to imitate a trailing shuck. The Sparkle Dun’s low-floating design and glistening translucent tail make it an excellent imitation of mayfly emergers and newly hatched duns. Add a little petrochemistry to your favorite emerger and you will discover the genius of John Betts … “better fishing through chemistry”.
Copyright 2021, Rusty Dunn
Sparkle Dun
The sizes and colors of Sparkle Duns can be varied to match emerging duns of any mayfly you encounter.
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