Cow Dung Fly
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 11:46 am
Looking through various listings of patterns tabulated by fly fishing writers over the years, “Cow Dung” appears frequently, appearing in the literature at least as far back as 1836 in Alfred Ronald’s “Fly Fishers Entomology”. The insect it is intended to mimic is a true fly (order Diptera), which have a single pair of wings that originate behind the legs and lie flat and crossed when the insect is at rest. Despite this, all the images I have seen of dressings show the same profile as that traditionally used for winged mayflies, with only the concession of having the wing slanted back at a severe angle.
Also, various recipes call for body color ranging from lemon to green, with materials varying from worsted (crewel) wool to peacock herl. This seeming discrepancy can be explained by the fact that while the male dung fly common in Britain is a yellowish orange, the female is a dull olive. There are also differences about the material to be used for the wing, with at least one specifying dark mallard wing slips. I attribute this to the fact that the wings of the dung fly are a color best mimicked by slips from the secondary wing feathers of the landrail, a bird that is today universally protected. (Until the starling was declared endangered in Britain and placed on the protected list, Veniard used to sell starling wings dyed brown as a credible sub for land rail; even those are in very short supply these days.)
Because it fits well into this forum, I have relied pretty much on Jim Leisenring’s version of the pattern as put forth in “The Art of Tying the Wet Fly”:
Hook: #12, #13 (I used a Mustad 94840, Size #12)
Thread: Orange silk
Hackle: Ginger similar to body color
Body: Yellow crewel wool, seal fur, or mohair mixed with a little brown fur to … give the whole a dirty
orange tinge (I used a blend of 85% yellow wool, 10% medium orange seal, and 5% medium brown
Aussie possum)
Wings: Landrail (slips) slightly longer than body sloping back close over body with glossy side out (I used
Veniard dyed starling as sub)
Also, various recipes call for body color ranging from lemon to green, with materials varying from worsted (crewel) wool to peacock herl. This seeming discrepancy can be explained by the fact that while the male dung fly common in Britain is a yellowish orange, the female is a dull olive. There are also differences about the material to be used for the wing, with at least one specifying dark mallard wing slips. I attribute this to the fact that the wings of the dung fly are a color best mimicked by slips from the secondary wing feathers of the landrail, a bird that is today universally protected. (Until the starling was declared endangered in Britain and placed on the protected list, Veniard used to sell starling wings dyed brown as a credible sub for land rail; even those are in very short supply these days.)
Because it fits well into this forum, I have relied pretty much on Jim Leisenring’s version of the pattern as put forth in “The Art of Tying the Wet Fly”:
Hook: #12, #13 (I used a Mustad 94840, Size #12)
Thread: Orange silk
Hackle: Ginger similar to body color
Body: Yellow crewel wool, seal fur, or mohair mixed with a little brown fur to … give the whole a dirty
orange tinge (I used a blend of 85% yellow wool, 10% medium orange seal, and 5% medium brown
Aussie possum)
Wings: Landrail (slips) slightly longer than body sloping back close over body with glossy side out (I used
Veniard dyed starling as sub)