True footprint dun (TFP dun)
Again, inspiration came from a British magazine, from a pattern submitted by a reader. This pattern claimed to imitate the true impression a natural makes on the water's surface -- a natural dun resting on the surface only with its rear and middle legs and possibly tails. This observation is of course correct, at least for duns of the larger species, and on languid or still waters (chalk stream/spring creeks, and ponds and reservoirs). The described pattern howevers was a very elaborate (read: needlessly difficult to tie) parachute variant; so I thought there had to be a better way of creating the same effect. So I came up with this pattern.In effect it is a comparadun variant, taking advantage of that pattern's feature of the slightly below horizontal deer hair tips and fiber tail providing support. I figured that having a deer hair tail, and two arcs of deer hair, comparadun- (or haystack-) style wings would offer enough support to lift the rest of the pattern (i.e. abdomen and thorax) off the water, so if I could place the 'wings' at the appropriate locations, they would create impressions on the water's surface not unlike a real dun's legs. The rear wing should be at approximately 3/5 of the shank length, starting from the rear, and somewhat smaller/shorter thant the front wing, which should be a little more forward than a standard comparadun wing. Both wings should describe a 200 degree arc (i.e. slightly larger than 180 degrees). The trick is to clip and cover the butts of both wings, which are both in between the wings, and pointing towards each other. Having a slightly bulky, dubbed thorax helps in covering them; plus, the fact that the pattern rides on the deer hair means that the thorax should not touch the surface. Neatness here therefore is not of the utmost concern. Apart from tying the double wing, the pattern is really straightforward.