The RIP (Rest in peace) Pale Morning Dun Mayfly Emerger is one of the best PMD nymphal emerger patterns available in fly fishing today. The Pale Morning Dun mayfly is a summer may fly that is seen on most Western rivers from as early as May to as late as the end of September depending on the river. A PMD hatch can be considered a technical emergence. Trout during a PMD hatch are seeing hundreds if not thousands of floating PMD moving down river over their noses. Your PMD fly must look exactly like the natural, if not then you will not be catching very many trout. Hence a technical hatch.
The RIP PMD Emerger is considered a Pale Morning Dun Mayfly emerger. To go a bit further it is a PMD NYMPHAL emerger. There are two types of emerger dry fly artificial flies: a nymphal emerger and a hatching emerger. As a nymphal emerger the RIP PMD Emerger represents what an emerging PMD nymph will look like once it has reached the surface (meniscus). Remember an emerger is an aquatic insect (In our case a PMD mayfly) that leaves the bottom of the river to swim to the surface to become a winged adult. When a PMD emerger reaches the surface it still looks like the original nymph and this is exactly what a RIP PMD Emerger is imitating. It will not change from its nymphal state until it breaks the surface film.
Logically if a RIP PMD Emerger Imitates what a PMD nymph looks like at the surface then it will also be an outstanding nymph to use throughout the summer’s PMD hatch too. Both the RIP PMD Emerger and the Split Case PMD Emerger patterns are a must to have in your PMD box. When you are progressing through your flies (Trial and Error) during a PMD hatch trying to match what the trout are feeding on by the hundreds you will want to have the RIP PMD Emerger in your box when the trout are feeding on the nymphal form of the PMD during a hatch. A very good technique to use during a PMD hatch is to tie on a hatching PMD emerger pattern and then tie on to the back of the hook at about 12 to 15 inches a RIP PMD Emerger fly as a dropper and let the trout tell you which one they prefer.
