GP Dun

I thought I’d send you some details of the GP Dun, just in case you want to make some kind of link to it (I don’t really know how to do these computer things, I’m afraid).

By way of background, I’ve been flyfishing since 1969 and tying my own flies since about 1971 or thereabouts. In that time, I must have invented many dozens of patterns (possibly more than 100). Virtually all of them proved completely useless! Of the small minority that weren’t, most only caught the odd fish and were nowhere near as good as established patterns. That leaves only four ‘original’ flies that have won a permanent place in my fly box.

Of those four, two are not really original, being variants or close relations of well-known patterns. Of the remaining two, one is only useful on still waters. The other is the GP Dun, which I devised several ago, specifically for use on the club water. It caught several trout on its first outing (on the upper water). In fact, I have been amazed at its continued success, so much so that it nearly turned me into a ‘one-fly’ man!

It seems to work well as an imitation of most upwinged duns. Dressed on the appropriate hook, it has proven deadly in the Mayfly hatch. It will also occasionally catch fish during the grannom.

I believe it’s genuinely original, although I can’t rule out the possibility that it already exists under another name (‘GP’ just stands for ‘general purpose’, by the way – rather unimaginative, I know, but it’s the fly that counts, not the name!).

Here’s the dressing – very simple, as you can see.

Tying silk: Yellow (waxed). The precise shade doesn’t seem to matter very much, but it should be of the kind that darkens to an olive colour when wet.

Body: Natural seal’s fur spun sparsely on the tying silk. Don’t overdo it. The silk underbody should be visible, with the fur forming a ‘halo’ around it. Do not rib the body, which is quite unnecessary and will ruin the effect.

Hackle and whisks: Blue dun cock (preferably natural rather than dyed)

And that’s it.
All the best,
Tom