Skip to content
The Woolly Gentleman logo

The Woolly Gentleman

FlyboxTiersWhy These WorkJournalFind Your FliesThe CraftThe Story
Home/Flybox/CDC Transitional Dun
CDC Transitional DunEmergeradvanced

Rocky Mountain West

CDC Transitional Dun

Flybox sourcing profile

No TWG price or checkout is active. Use this page to validate the fly, then source it through the mapped tier or trusted fly shops.

Available Sizes#14 - #22
Color Variations
OlivePale YellowGrayRusty Brown

Pattern Ledger

Source CDC Transitional Dun

Want help finding this exact pattern or a tied-to-order equivalent? Join the sourcing ledger and we will prioritize demand by water, species, and pattern.

Sourcing Ledger

Where to source this pattern

TWG checkout is closed. These are current sourcing leads, scored by mapped tier, region, species, fly type, and named-pattern evidence. Confirm availability directly with the tier or shop.

Regional shopStrong match

Taos Fly Shop

Matched on Rocky Mountain West, emerger flies, trout. New Mexico/Southwest trout shop lead for Rio Grande, San Juan, Pecos, and high desert water.

Rocky Mountain Westemerger fliestrout
Visit source
Signature tierStrong match

Rocky Mountain Fly Design

Matched on Rocky Mountain West, emerger flies, trout. Colorado tier and shop lead for Rocky Mountain trout, bass, and predator patterns.

Rocky Mountain Westemerger fliestrout
Visit source
Signature tierStrong match

Stillwater Fly Fishing Store

Matched on Rocky Mountain West, emerger flies, trout. Specialist stillwater source for balanced leeches, chironomids, and lake-trout logic.

Rocky Mountain Westemerger fliestrout
Visit source
Broad sourceStrong match

Fly Fish Food

Matched on emerger flies, trout, mayfly. Strong technical tying and trout catalog coverage, especially nymphs, dries, and stillwater flies.

emerger fliestroutmayfly
Visit source
Broad sourceStrong match

Fulling Mill Flies

Matched on emerger flies, trout, nymph. Large pattern house with broad freshwater and saltwater fly categories.

emerger fliestroutnymph
Visit source

The CDC Transitional Dun occupies the narrow space between emerger and adult -- neither fully hatched nor still emerging, but caught in the vulnerable moment of transformation that trout find most appealing. The CDC wings provide both floatation and a realistic wing silhouette, while the trailing shuck anchors the rear of the fly in the film. It is a fly designed for the angler who has watched too many trout eat something they could not identify, right at the surface, and decided to tie a pattern that exists in both worlds at once. The trout approve. They always approve of vulnerability.

Quick Facts

TypeEmerger
Difficultyadvanced
SeasonsSpring, Summer, Fall
Target SpeciesRainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout
Sizes#14 - #22
Best LocationsHenry's Fork, ID; Missouri River, MT; South Platte River, CO

Where to Fish It

Henry's Fork

ID · Spring Creek

Missouri River

MT · Tailwater

South Platte River

CO · Tailwater

Map unavailable. Locations for CDC Transitional Dun: Henry's Fork, ID; Missouri River, MT; South Platte River, CO

Related Reading

seasonal playbook

The Spring Playbook: First Hatches to Full Send

Spring is the most dynamic season in fly fishing — water temperatures swing daily, hatches emerge in waves, and fish that have been dormant for months begin feeding with increasing urgency. This is your region-by-region playbook for fishing the awakening.

hatch guide

The Complete Guide to Mayfly Hatches

Mayflies are the foundation of trout-stream entomology. This guide covers every major hatch — BWOs, PMDs, Green Drakes, Sulphurs, Tricos, and Hendricksons — with the biology, timing, and fly selections you need to fish them effectively across the country.

hatch guide

Emerger Patterns: Fishing the In-Between

Trout eat more insects during emergence than at any other stage. Emerger patterns — flies that imitate the critical moment when a nymph transforms into an adult in the surface film — are the most consistently effective dry flies in fly fishing. Here is the science and the technique behind fishing the in-between.

You Might Also Like

CDC EmergerEmergerintermediate

CDC Emerger

Flybox

Find a tier or trusted source

Rocky Mountain West

#14 - #22

Cul-de-canard feather emerger. Natural oils in CDC float the fly in the film. Imitates a mayfly struggling to hatch.

OliveTanGrayRusty Brown

Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout

SprSumFallWin
Source & Details →
Sparkle PupaEmergerintermediate

Sparkle Pupa

Flybox

Find a tier or trusted source

Rocky Mountain West

#12 - #18

Gary LaFontaine's caddis emerger. Antron sparkle yarn creates a bubble effect mimicking the gas sheath of an emerging caddis pupa.

TanOliveBrownDeep Sparkle Amber

Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout

SprSumFallWin
Source & Details →
Barr's Emerger (BWO)Emergerintermediate

Barr's Emerger (BWO)

Flybox

Find a tier or trusted source

Rocky Mountain West

#16 - #22

John Barr's Blue Wing Olive emerger. Tungsten bead, trailing shuck, CDC wing. Designed for the transition zone between nymph and dun.

BWO OlivePMD Pale YellowGray

Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout

SprSumFallWin
Source & Details →
RS2Emergerintermediate

RS2

Flybox

Find a tier or trusted source

Rocky Mountain West

#18 - #24

Rim Chung's minimalist emerger. CDC or beaver fur wing, thread body. Imitates emerging Baetis and midges in the surface film.

OliveGrayBlack

Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout

SprSumFallWin
Source & Details →
Parachute AdamsDry Flybeginner

Parachute Adams

Flybox

Find a tier or trusted source

Rocky Mountain West

#12 - #22

The universal dry fly. Grizzly hackle, white post, dubbed body. If you cannot identify the hatch, tie on an Adams.

Standard GrayFemale (yellow egg sac)

Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout · Brook Trout · Mountain Whitefish

SprSumFallWin
Source & Details →
Elk Hair CaddisDry Flybeginner

Elk Hair Caddis

Flybox

Find a tier or trusted source

Rocky Mountain West

#12 - #18

Al Troth's iconic caddis imitation. Elk hair wing, palmered hackle. Floats like a cork in fast water.

TanOliveBlack

Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout · Brook Trout

SprSumFallWin
Source & Details →

The Woolly Gentleman

Every Fly Has a River · Every River Has a Tier

America's premium flybox and field ledger for choosing the right pattern before you buy.

Join the mailing list. We will tell you what is hatching.

The Flybox

  • Open the Flybox
  • Tiers
  • The Science
  • Why These Work
  • Find Your Flies
  • The Flybox
  • The Journal

Fishing Regions

  • Gulf Coast & Emerald Coast
  • Florida Keys
  • Northeast & Mid-Atlantic
  • Rocky Mountain West
  • Pacific Northwest
  • All 10 Regions

The Gentleman

  • Our Story
  • Nationwide
  • hello@thewoollygentleman.com

© 2026 The Woolly Gentleman. All rights reserved.

Privacy Policy|Terms & Conditions

Chosen with proof. Sourced with care.