Dry fly
Blue Quill
Early-season small dark dun
TroutSurface
A small, slate-bodied dun that hatches early and often through the cold weeks of the eastern season. The quill body and dark dun wing match Paraleptophlebia — modest, abundant, and a fly the educated trout of pressured eastern streams see a great deal of.
Fish this when
Early spring into early summer on eastern freestone and limestone streams, often overlapping Quill Gordon and Hendrickson. Fish it dead-drift to risers in slower glides and tail-outs; drop a size when fish refuse.
Why it works
Paraleptophlebia hatch in cool, often overcast spells when little else is up, so a well-presented size 16–18 dark quill dun covers selective fish keyed on a small, specific silhouette.
Naturals it imitates
small dark mayfly dun (Paraleptophlebia)
Typical zone & fishable range
usually
Surface
Film
Subsurface
Deep
Setup sensitivity: medium
Quick facts
Tying difficulty
Intermediate