Mahogany Thorax Dun

Another classic here. My twist on this one is the Hungarian partridge wing. Classically, this one is tied with a turkey flats wing or possibly mallard. These work great, but I really like the look of the Partridge. It is mottled and really has a realistic mayfly wing. Whether you are trying to mimic a blue wing olive, pmd, or maybe a green drake, this format is a killer. Remember to trim the bottom hackle off and you’ll find out how well this fly sits in the water. It almost always lands on the water properly. Throwing a killer silhouette for the fish to see.

Material List:

Hook: Size 12 Umpqua U Series U002 Dry Fly Hook
Wing: Hungarian Partridge
Hackle: Whiting Brown Saddle
Body: Nature's Spirit Mahogany Fine and Dry
Tail: Umpqua Med Dun Tailing Fibers
Thread: Uni 6/0 Wine

Video Transcription

Intro to the Mahogany Thorax Dun

Hey guys, Tyler, North 40 Flyshop here in Coeur d'Alene. Today we are going to show you how to tie the Mahogany Thorax Dun. One of my favorite type of mayfly patterns here. I really, really like how this thing sits in the water. Kind of an old classic pattern, but some of the old ones are some of the best. I do a Hungarian partridge wing here. I like the mottled look to it. You could do Mallard, you can do Turkey flats. A lot of different options for the wing. I like the Hungarian partridge, kind of looks cool. It looks realistic.

Pretty simple fly to tie. It's not really, really difficult. It's not really a parachute, but if you struggle with tying a parachute, this is a great fly to tie for you. It doesn't really require a real gentle hand when you're doing parachute, so a little bit easier to tie than a parachute and fishes fantastic, what I also like about it. After we wrap the hackle around the middle portion of the thorax here, we're going to clip the bottom. And what that does is it helps that fly wrap ride perfectly in the water almost every time, as long as you got it greased up good with some floating, it floats perfectly. Wings up right, throws a good silhouette on the water. Anyhow, like to show you how to tie it and thanks for watching.

Step-by-Step Tying Instructions

So we're going to start right just behind the front of the hook here. Get tied in with your thread. We're going to tie our wing in first here, guys. So we're using Hungarian partridge for the wing. So what I like to do is get these guys facing each other. They're kind of cupped, so we want both of them cup-in so they kind of hold together, kind of marry. So get them prepped and go ahead and tie right in right there. Trim off your excess and then post it up like you would a parachute. Just like so. Pretty simple.

Next, we're going to tie our tail in. So what I want to try and do is select four of these micro fibbets, which is sometimes kind of tricky to do. Just take your time. Go ahead and tie those guys in. And they're going to be all initially clumped together like this, so I'm going to make a loop underneath them and that's going to help fan them out. And then you can select two on each side. Then I'm going to give them a cross right in between. Then that should do it right there.

Next, we're going to do our fine and dry dubbing. And again, this is a Mahogany. You guys can do this pattern in any may fly style you want, whether it be a green drake, tail morning dun, blooming olive, whatever you want. I'm going to get my dubbing added on there.

What I like to do again is I want to come back through here, add some of the dubbing in between the micro-fibbets there. This really helps keep them splayed apart there. Go ahead and start coming forward. Stop right behind the wing. Good. Now I'm going to get our prep here. Just want to get a little bit of the barbs stripped off there. Tie that in. Add a little bit more dubbing. Then you're dubbing forward. It's a pretty simple fly to tie, man. But I've fished when I was guiding years ago, it was one of my favorites. It floats almost perfect every time you cast it as far as how it rides in the water. Throws a great silhouette, and if you're working picky fish it means it will have your bug fishing the way it's supposed to.

All right, now we've got our taper made there. Now we're going to wrap our hackle. And this is really the major component of what makes this fly float good. So I'm not too conservative with my wraps. I do quite a few. I'm going to tie it off on the front. Trim. And I'm going to whip finish here. This fly goes pretty quick. Good. Trim. We'll put a head cement.

Now, what we do, we're going to come here and shape our wing a little bit. Some guys used to, there are some still do I suppose, use a wing burner. They'll come through and have these old school wing burners that make the shape all look pretty. Those are cool. I don't use them, but have at it. So now I'm going to come through and trim the bottom of the hackles off. That makes the fly float flush. And I'm going to add some head cement there as well.

That's going to soak in. Also kind of helps hold that hackle together after you catch a few fish, won't split apart. But that's it guys. Very basic fly. But man, this fly floats fantastic. What you can do for fun after you get it done tied. Throw it on the table. Try throwing it as many different times as you can, and it'll land upright. That wing upright every time, which is cool. That's how it's going to throw on the water. That's what you want, and you want the fly casting a nice silhouette when it's out there for the fish. So there you have it. There's your Mahogany Dun in the thorax style.

If you have any further questions on fly tying, please come visit us at any of our retail locations or North40.com.

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