McPhail's CDC Olive Dun

McPhail's CDC Olive Dun

Dry Fly
Intermediate
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Grayling
Hook: 12-20

Davie McPhail's elegant CDC olive dry fly features a stripped quill body and natural grey CDC wing. Designed for selective trout feeding during olive mayfly hatches, this pattern rides low in the surface film with an exceptionally realistic silhouette.

🪶 Ready to tie this?

This pattern needs 6 materials. Sign up free to check which ones you already own.

Check My Materials — Free

Materials

Hook

Fulling Mill Ultimate Dry or TMC 100BL, sizes 12-20

Thread

Olive Uni 8/0 or Semperfli 12/0 Medium Olive

Tail

Coq de Leon fibers, Medium Pardo (4-6 fibers)

Body

Magic Quill (Medium) or stripped peacock quill

Thorax

Olive CDC fibers mixed with Ice Dub UV Lt. Olive

Wing

Natural grey CDC feathers (2-3 feathers)

How to Tie the McPhail's CDC Olive Dun

  1. 1

    Step 1

    Secure the dry fly hook in the vise. Start olive thread behind the eye and wind down to the bend in touching turns.

  2. 2

    Step 2

    Select 4-6 Coq de Leon fibers and tie in at the bend as tails, roughly shank length.

    Splay the tail fibers slightly for better stability on the water.

  3. 3

    Step 3

    Tie in a Magic Quill or stripped peacock quill at the base of the tail by its thin end.

  4. 4

    Step 4

    Advance the thread forward, leaving space for the thorax and wing. Wrap the quill forward in touching turns to form a smooth segmented body. Tie off.

  5. 5

    Step 5

    Dub a small amount of olive CDC fibers mixed with UV Lt. Olive Ice Dub onto your thread. Wrap to form a compact thorax.

  6. 6

    Step 6

    Select 2-3 natural grey CDC feathers and align tips. Tie them in at the thorax so tips extend over the body, forming an upright wing.

    Use a thread dam in front to keep the wing upright.

  7. 7

    Step 7

    Form a small neat head with thread. Whip finish and add a touch of head cement.

Watch Tying Tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDMFyzWrwyE

Credit: Davie McPhail / Fulling Mill

More patterns like this

Other patterns using these materials

Track Your Fly Tying Materials

See which patterns you can tie with materials you already own. Build your inventory, discover new patterns, and never buy duplicates.

Get Started — It's Free