March Browns

[jayL]

Corey mentioned the good info we're getting from hatch specific threads. Well, the MBs are a'poppin, so it's time to do a little show, teach, and tell with MBs.

I am a bit ignorant about MBs, beyond what people have told me. I have gone out looking for the spinner falls, but never hit one. I am tying catskill, comparadun, and cdc march brown dries. I use hare's ears for the nymph.

So let's see em. What do you like to tie for the MB hatch?

 

[Festus]

For the spinners, I prefer to fish the Pine Cone in the riffles....

For the floaters, I like Taps Near E Nuff......

Or the Wonder Wing.......

For the emergers, I like this pattern.....

 

[afishinado]

Wow! Nice ties Festus, although I don't think I'd have the heart to get any of them wet and ruin 'um.

The "pine cone" looks real interesting.



Jay, for duns I use a parachute or a compara dun. I also have a few catskill ties for faster water and for moving the fly on the water.

Emergers, I use (on a curved hook) an antron shuck, dubbed body with med (undersized) deer hair wing ( I think I gave you one). I also tie a loop wing CDC. Klinkhammers in MB colors work well too, and really work using a nymph on a dropper to "sweeten" the rig

For spinners I like hackle wing ones. In low light I tie a parachute with a small orange post (clipped short) and hackles clipped fore and aft.

No one magic pattern really, I let the fish decide.

 

[Festus]

Thanks 'nado. I received a fly in a fly swap from a lady named Andrea from Ohio. It was very similar to the Pine Cone except it was another color and didn't have Krystal Flash blended into the the thorax. I tied up a few dozen in different colors and stashed them in a flybox in the vest, and forgot about them for 2 years.

2 years later, I was fishing a spinner fall in a pool, and just for the heck of it tied on a brown version of the fly that Andrea had sent. BINGO! I refined it a little, and have been enjoying really good results ever since.

So....Andrea....if you are out there.....THANKS!

 

[jayL]

Agreed. Very nice flies, festus. On the emerger, regarding what looks to be ostrich herl... is that a pure "hot spot", or does it have some imitative purpose?

Tom,

If, for example, you tie a dun on a size 14 standard dry fly hook, would you use a 14 curved hook for the emerger? The reason I ask is that many curved hooks are 1x and 2x short. I've always figured that measurement didn't take the bent shank into account, and was just a straight measurement from eye to rear of the hook. Do you move a size larger for the emergers?

 

[Festus]

Agreed. Very nice flies, festus. On the emerger, regarding what looks to be ostrich herl... is that a pure "hot spot", or does it have some imitative purpose?

It's ostrich. I found that fly in a tree along Kettle Creek that I got stuck in a few years ago. I gave it to a friend, who gave it to a friend that fishes in New Zealand. 2 years later, I get a note from a guy in New Zealand about how well that fly worked, and he wants a few dozen. I tried tracking the pattern down at Kettle Creek Tackle and Phil didn't know anything about it. A few days later, I was over at Slate Run Tackle and Tom clued me in on it. It was originated by one of his tyers. It was very effective, but didn't sell well. So they started giving them away, and guys started having success on it, and now it's a big seller up there. Tom says fishing this soft hackle off of a March Brown dry is deadly. I've never fished it in tandem.

If you look closely, there's some yellow grizzly mixed in with the partridge. In one of the latest issues of Mid Atlantic, there's a March Brown Flymph that uses the same hackle configuration. I'm looking forward to trying that out to.

 

[afishinado]

jayL wrote:
Agreed. Very nice flies, festus. On the emerger, regarding what looks to be ostrich herl... is that a pure "hot spot", or does it have some imitative purpose?

Tom,

If, for example, you tie a dun on a size 14 standard dry fly hook, [color=FF0000]would you use a 14 curved hook for the emerger[/color]? The reason I ask is that many curved hooks are 1x and 2x short. I've always figured that measurement didn't take the bent shank into account, and was just a straight measurement from eye to rear of the hook. Do you move a size larger for the emergers?

Jay, those babies are big! (MBs). They are a size 10 regular dry fly hook and even bigger sometimes. The Grey Fox that come a little later is a little smaller and lighter.

I like a size 10 standard hook or a size 10 2XL if the duns are running a little bigger.

A size 8 TMC 2487 would work for the emerger since they are 2x short.

Think size 10+/- (standard length hook) with MBs.

 

[jayL]

Yeah, I was asking more of a generic question for all emergers then specific MB sizes.

You answered it though. Go a little bigger on the emerger, since it's shorter shanked.

I need to get some bigger curved hooks!

 

[Festus]

Another one that a friend of mine was doing well with on the Kettle Saturday is the Long Transitional Dun, or LTD Dun, created by Ralph Long out of Galeton. I tied up a half dozen for him to try out and he hammered the trout on them. For those that get Fly Tyer Magazine, this pattern was featured in the Winter 2009/2010 issue.

Hook-#10 2xl
Tail- Pheasant
Body- Dubbing to match natural or phesant tail. I used amber dyed pheasant tail. You want the back end of the fly to sink.
Wing- Clump of CDC
Thorax- Lt Amber Dubbing
Hackle- Golden Grizzly or Brown/Grizzly mixed and clipped in a V on the bottom.

 

[flipnfly]

jay i have a decent amount of success with this pattern the wing knot emerger tied in colors to match the natural i also use the pattern festus posted the pt emerger

 

[Festus]

Poor Jay is gonna have a good bit of tying ahead of him

 

[tocar]

Festus wrote:
Poor Jay is gonna have a good bit of tying ahead of him

He and I both. Great patterns, Festus. I'll be at the bench tying some of those LTDs and pine cones for sure. One can never have too many emerger patterns

While I haven't fished this hatch often, for the duns I use a CDCcomparadun. I think I bought them at the Feathered Hook a few Jams ago and they worked well. I'm was gonna tie some parachute duns, but I don't think I have any #10 hooks

peace-tony c.

 

[afishinado]

Jay, add another one to your tying list...an nymerger...lol. I tie a MB nymph (or any other MF for that matter), but instead of a standard folded over type wingcase, I tie a loop of CDC, (in the color of the dun wings) on top. Scud hooks work well for this. The nymerger sort of just hangs there in the film daring a trout to suck it in. I sometimes I drop it off a dun pattern and HANG ON!

 

[osprey]

I'm not going to be much help with the MB's , the only times i remember them heavy was with my pap on Yellow creek , beaver and clover creeks in that area of PA. i was young but i rmemeber my pap was tearing them up on first the nymphs and then the adults , wish i could know more about these.

 

[Festus]

I'll be at the bench tying some of those LTDs and pine cones for sure.

Figured I better put the recipe for the Pine Cone up:

Hook- 9672
Tail- Wood duck
Body- Brown turkey biot
Thorax- A blend of 40%cream, 40%brown and 20%red fur with chopped up copper Krystal Flash mixed in
Wing- A few short strands of pearl Krystal Flash
Hackle- Gray partridge, preferably dyed dark dun.

*When building the thorax, the best way to get the copper KF to stay in the blend is through the use of heavily waxed thread and a dubbing loop.

 

[redrockgrizzly]

here is my "special march brown pattern"

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[ryguyfi]

I'm with you Jay. I've searched after the MB hatch but have only found a few bugs here and there. I've tied up a few pattern in a comparadun, catskill, and parachute. Hopefully they'll come in handy at the JAM this year. I gotta find a local stream that has them. I might post some pictures of a few of my creations if I get the chance to take some pics.

Festus... I am once again jealous of your tying abilities.

 

[Festus]

Thanks Ry.

I'm a believer in RedRock patterns. What's that wing RedRock?:idea:

 

[jayL]

Looks to me to be poly that's barred with a marker.

If I do say, that would make a heck of a GD dun wing.

 

[Festus]

That's what I was thinkin'