Help getting ready for spring.

[littlelehigh]

As the long nasty winter is in full swing I am looking to fill my boxes with the hatches I plan to fish or mayflies I could possible stumble across hear in the LV. What I am looking to tie are BWO, March Browns, Blue Quills and a few others.

My question is do you guys carry BWO spinners and how often do you fish them I was thinking of just tying a few with I-zon (sp) wings and BWO dubbing for the body. Does this sound right? I also carry Comparaduns, Loop Wing, Parachute and Catskill styles.

In regards to the March Brown what the heck color are the adults. If you look in the book Mayflies they appear to be camo colored with the grey fox more of a yellow/brown . I have "March Brown" super fine but comparing it to the pics it is to rusty. What color or blends of dubbing do you use or will the march brown color I have darken enough in water to be a close enough match.

Sorry for the rambling but I'd appreciate any feedback.

 

[jayL]

Your march brown color should match that. I believe their backs are a different shade.

As for BWO spinners, I just carry small rustys.

 

[ryguyfi]

Yep tie some rusty spinners in sizes 12-18. Those should take care of almost all of your spinner falls.

I'd also tie up some caddis and sulphur dries and emergers. A caddis emerger can be a great fly during a hatch in the riffles and faster water, as that's where they usually hatch from. I tie mine simply as nymph dubbing, so the body sinks, and elk hair in dark brown, light brown, and green. Sulphurs come up in a lot of streams and are usually a pretty good hatch.

I also can't resist tying on a sz 20-22 griffiths gnat early in the season. Those things always catch fish for me when they're sipping midges and micro's. Easy tie too.

 

[mikeyB]

Here is my March Brown. This is about as tan as I tie them. Like JayL's pic, MB's are much yellower on the bottom than any dubbing I have seen advertised as such. My Penns MB's are quite yellow on the bottom as the bugs there are even more yellow on the underside than the one Jay is displaying.

As far as style or type of tie, this particular fly has elements of a comparadun and parachute with a strong wing profile which I personally think is important. This fly is more heavily hackled than normal as the MB is a broken water hatch and requires a little more flotation and stability. Yeah, I know, my wings are too big, my tails are too long and my hackle is oversized. But there is a method to the maddness!
Below are a few more flies for springtime:

Quill Gordon

Light Hendrickson

This is a light hendrickson I used at the Breeches for most of a day several years ago. Pretty durable!

Below is a #20 BWO

Anyway, depending on where you plan to fish, these are a few that I would tie. You might think they look funny but the trouts tell me they are pretty good alright.
I'm not even going to show you my fully hackled flies! Then you'd really think I was nuts. Then again, maybe I am.

Cheers, Mike

 

[sundrunk]

mikeyb,

You trim yours right on the vise huh, interesting..I also see you cut 50% hackle off too, interesting..I usally wait until I'm in the field before I cut; just in case I want to hit the riffle water...I'll start with a V cut and go from there..Are you fishing a lot of still waters?


bwo spinner?
Rusty spinner, as small as you can tie them...BWO spinners are important when falling in large numbers..Since the spinners swim under water to lay their eggs, they don't stay spent on top of the water for long..You may also consider sinking bwo spinners as well..good luck.

 

[Acristickid]

Nice camera work. Interesting style.

 

[mikeyB]

Sundrunk,
No trimming involved. Here is the underside of the MB

 

[sundrunk]

Oh, I see..Your just wrapping them up..Why not, great idea..nice

 

[Fishidiot]

MikeyB,
Great ties and some great photos.

 

[littlelehigh]

Mikey first off nice and interesting ties. I'm a rookie here but I would say you hackle those flies like a normal catskill and split the barbs on the bottom to each side and dub to hold them in place . Is that correct?

Many here have said wings are not important or a major factor (not everyone). But I don't recall anyone mentioning or showing a fly with such a pronounced wing as your flies do. But that maybe a topic for someone else.

Jayl thanks for the pic all the photos I have are top views.
I'll have to mix something up to match that.

Thanks everyone for there input so far!

 

[littlelehigh]

I might add your wings are set back farther than I was taught. Not that it's wrong but I like those that go against the grain with success! Congrads.

 

[mikeyB]

LittleLehigh,
You have a good eye! My wings are very pronounced and set back more mid-shank than what you might think is the norm. A couple of reasons; Every element of the fly is designed to land on the water upright every time. The large upright and vee'd wings and tails act as airfoils enabling the fly to land and sit correctly. Because the tails are slanted up, the hackle is what supports the fly on the water (kind of like a thorax dun) and needs to be further back. Another reason is the fact that a mayfly's wings are swept back further than we are normally taught to place them.

The fly is hackled similarly to a catskill tie, however, there are only 4 turns of hackle. The first is in front of the wings to hold them in that swept back attitude, then 2 behind the wings, the fourth in front and tie off. Flip the fly over and figure 8 the thread once through the bottom of the hackle to draw it up. Dub the thread and do 1 or 2 more figure eights, finish dubbing in front of the hackle and whip finish. The idea is to use as few wraps as possible in building the fly. I want it as light as possible but still maintain durability.

I do not want to present myself as an expert by any means, however, if I could give a new tier advice other than to have a good teacher get you started, it would be to always consider the design of the fly. It may look great in your vise, but how is it going to act in the air and on the water? And more importantly, will the fish eat it?!

And thanks to the other guys for your kind comments.

Cheers, Mike

 

[dryflyguy]

I make my mayfly duns very similar mikey. I tie a divided wing in about one third of the hook shank behind the eye. Divided microfibbets for tails. Dub to just behind the wing, then tie in a smaller than usual size hackle - no more than the width of the hook gap.

As for what flies, I go thru more sulphers than anything else.
They are so widespread, and have such a long hatching season - mid may thru June. Most common sizes are #14 and #16. But I also tie them in #12, #18, and #20.

I also use lots of tan and gray caddis

And don't forget terrestials

 

[jayL]

Seeing the cdc/elk posted under the hairwing discussion reminds me...

That fly is killer for most hatches, and as a prospecting fly.