Funnel Dun
Tied by Laurence Davies

6 th September 2004

Winning Fly Tied by Markus Potgieter

I got the dreaded phone call from Jay - about needing someone to tie at one of our monthly meetings - would I be able to tie? He obviously hadn’t seen my fly tying of late otherwise he wouldn’t have asked me. Alternatively, he had seen my fly tying, but was so desperate that he asked me anyway.
Anyway, I was flattered and accepted. I don’t know whether it was at his suggestion or mine, that I agreed to tie a dry fly and suggested that I would tie a Parachute Adams. It’s a nice, effective dry fly which settles softly onto the water and is easy to see (an important factor to me nowadays). When Jay later phoned to confirm, he reminded me to bring along enough material for other members to use, because they would be copying the fly afterwards, and many might not have the necessary materials. It suddenly struck me that the most important materials for the Parachute Adams are the hackles. In fact most dry flies need the best quality hackles that you can afford, particularly in the smaller sizes. Now I have two capes which I use for most of my dry flies, by Metz, albeit second grade, that were bought over a decade ago (without my wife’s knowledge of course). I was worried that those first-time dry fly tiers that wanted to tie more dry flies afterwards, would be hard pressed to justify the expense of a quality hackle for something which might not take their fancy (it is certainly cheaper to buy your dry flies ). So I thought to myself, why not tie the Funnel Dun, which is not only a relatively easy fly to tie but also does not require quality hackles.

The Funnel Dun is a fly which Jack Blackman first introduced to us when we were still Natal Fly Dressers Society, Durban Branch - a long time ago. As Jack pointed out, it was a method of tying a dry fly where the cheaper Indian Game Cock feathers could be used very effectively, and could be tied in any combination of colours and materials to suit what you are trying to imitate. I have tied the fly in dun colours, light greys and browns and have also found black to be very effective (but have trouble in seeing the progress of the fly on the water). So the recipe I am about to give you is more a pattern or shape which results in the fly settling nicely on the surface. It is unusual in that the hook rides upside down. It provides an attractive silhouette and is relatively easy to tie.

Hook: An up-eyed dry fly hook is preferred but a down-eyed dry fly hook works as well, sizes 12 to 18
Thread: 6/0 - in colour to suit your chosen scheme
Thorax: Any dubbing material, usually darker than the abdomen. Hare=s Ear blend works well.
Hackle: Long barbuled cock hackle - colour to suit

. I prefer a length of 1,5 times the hook shank.
Body: Soft fur dubbing of colour to suit
Tail: Same as for hackle - again 1,5 times the length of the shank.

Step 1 : Place hook in vice, secure the thread and take it to a position just past the eye. Form a dubbing noodle with your selected material and form a neat thorax just behind the eye. The thorax should have a diameter of about a fifth to a quarter of the shank length.

Step 2: Strip the flue off the hackle and tie the stem in at the back of the thorax, with shiny side out. Trim off the excess stem and wind the hackle backward (towards the hook bend) two to three times around the shank and tie off. Shape the hackles so that they form a funnel shape over the thorax. This is done by holding the hackle tips in the fingers of the one hand and winding the thread loosely up the barbules with the other hand and then back again. This should keep the hackle in the funnel shape. If the thread is wrapped too tightly the barbules will splay in all directions.

Step 3: Wind the thread to a position above the barb and tie in three or four barbules for the tail. By holding the barbules down with your left hand, wind the thread to about a quarter of the way around the bend. Take the thread back to behind the hackle.

Step 4: Dub body material onto the thread and form a tapered body by winding back to the tail. Tie off at the tail with a whip finish. The tie off can also be done with a yellow colour thread to imitate an egg laying insect.

Happy hunting!