Rusty Spinner Fly Tying Video Instructional

In this video, Simon ties a “Rusty Spinner” dry fly. This fly pattern is an indispensable pattern in a summer angler’s box. It effectively mimics the spent Spinner stage of Pale Morning/Evening Duns in the West, and Sulphurs in the Midwest and out East. Sparsely tied, this pattern effectively imitates a variety of smaller spent mayflies.

Mayflies go through several metamorphoses in their life. The most drastic is the nymph to Dun or Subimago transition where they shed their nymphal shuck and become a winged adult. Some anglers don’t know that mayflies go through a second metamorphosis where they molt in stream-side vegetation or in the air to become sexually mature adults called Spinners, or Imagoes. These Spinners or Imagoes are often more rust colored hence the namesake of the pattern “Rusty Spinner”. After this metamorphosis, adults will gather in clusters dancing up and down often above the river. After mating and depositing eggs, they will fall to the river dead or “spent”. Fish key in on this and spinner falls can bring some of the largest fish of the summer to the surface for dries. They know they will have access to vulnerable insects that won’t escape from them often under lower light. Whether they’re overlooked or kept tight lipped, a Rusty Spinner is a fly you always want in your box during the summer time.