What Are You Tying Today? 2026

March Brown - #10 Sprite light wire DF hook. I’ve noticed that the MBs on the Beaverkill & EBranch seem to have a yellowish hue, while the MBs on Penns seem somewhat darker


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I like to tie them with tarnish yellow dubbing or biots for the body. They do seem to have a touch of yellow. They do get more pale as Grey Fox.
 
bingsbaits said:
Sure do miss fishing with you gents. Last One Fly we had Jerry/DT and I won it.
Shame PHW has gone the way of the lawyers. After Skip's passing it all went to he11. New rules exclude anyone not participating on a regular basis. I fought with them for years to let the 8-10 guys that used to guide the vets come back, they made the program what it was. No go. If you even came to the Steelhead Slam now you would be asked to leave. A real shame they dumped all the men that made that program possible. I have been with the program for 14 years and I was not allowed to carry a rod for the Slam this year, all I could was net fish and help. They even said John NIckle our Legacy Vet and the whole reason the program was started could not attend. Tom Herr was allowed to come as a paid guide along with Blood, Tao, and some of the other big names..
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Fuc ‘em, I stay in touch with John and Tom, and have fished Erie twice this season. Plan on another trip soon
 
MAY AMBER???

After posting a Davie McPhail Amber March Brown pattern over the weekend followed by reading MASHBILL'S post and discussion of March Brown coloration on the East Branch, Beaverkill, and Penns, I decided to go to the ultimate authority on mayfly color recognition relating to central Pennsylvannia.

That's right! The Fred Reese dubbing wallet. Fred, the fly tie dye GOAT. There it was first page dubbing #1. No need to flip thru all the pages. (I still think Phil Baldacchino may have the secret dying formulas hidden somewhere in the Kettle Creek Tackle Shop)

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So I immediately revised my pattern using dubbing #1 for my thorax color instead of Davie's gray or possibly grey. Got me thinking... maybe in Ayrshire, Scotland they actually do hatch in March and this new pattern should be called the May Amber. Then I thought maybe I should tie a small squadron of thorax variations between dubbing #1 and Davie's gray or grey to be safe. So I did! Hopefully trout embrace diversity. I decided not to consider that May Amber males have brown eyes and females amber eyes. Below... the original, revised, and all the thorax shades in between.

RIP - Fred
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Tieafly said:
MAY AMBER???

After posting a Davie McPhail Amber March Brown pattern over the weekend followed by reading MASHBILL'S post and discussion of March Brown coloration on the East Branch, Beaverkill, and Penns, I decided to go to the ultimate authority on mayfly color recognition relating to central Pennsylvannia.

That's right! The Fred Reese dubbing wallet. Fred, the fly tie dye GOAT. There it was first page dubbing #1. No need to flip thru all the pages. (I still think Phil Baldacchino may have the secret dying formulas hidden somewhere in the Kettle Creek Tackle Shop)

View attachment 1641248103 View attachment 1641248104View attachment 1641248105View attachment 1641248106

So I immediately revised my pattern using dubbing #1 for my thorax color instead of Davie's gray or possibly grey. Got me thinking... maybe in Ayrshire, Scotland they actually do hatch in March and this new pattern should be called the May Amber. Then I thought maybe I should tie a small squadron of thorax variations between dubbing #1 and Davie's gray or grey to be safe. So I did! Hopefully trout embrace diversity. I decided not to consider that May Amber males have brown eyes and females amber eyes. Below... the original, revised, and all the thorax shades in between.

RIP - Fred
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That's an awesome wallet. I remember reading a book or article at some point in time that said all fly color could be matched with "x" amount of dubbing blends created from a base of other dubbing blends. I still wish I could remember or find that book/article because I always wanted to blend them to see the results.
 
Tieafly said:
MAY AMBER???

After posting a Davie McPhail Amber March Brown pattern over the weekend followed by reading MASHBILL'S post and discussion of March Brown coloration on the East Branch, Beaverkill, and Penns, I decided to go to the ultimate authority on mayfly color recognition relating to central Pennsylvannia.

That's right! The Fred Reese dubbing wallet. Fred, the fly tie dye GOAT. There it was first page dubbing #1. No need to flip thru all the pages. (I still think Phil Baldacchino may have the secret dying formulas hidden somewhere in the Kettle Creek Tackle Shop)

View attachment 1641248103 View attachment 1641248104View attachment 1641248105View attachment 1641248106

So I immediately revised my pattern using dubbing #1 for my thorax color instead of Davie's gray or possibly grey. Got me thinking... maybe in Ayrshire, Scotland they actually do hatch in March and this new pattern should be called the May Amber. Then I thought maybe I should tie a small squadron of thorax variations between dubbing #1 and Davie's gray or grey to be safe. So I did! Hopefully trout embrace diversity. I decided not to consider that May Amber males have brown eyes and females amber eyes. Below... the original, revised, and all the thorax shades in between.

RIP - Fred
View attachment 1641248107View attachment 1641248108View attachment 1641248109
Click to expand...

I loved his dubbing. Do they still mix it? I'd sure like to buy some again.
 
goose54cdd said:
I loved his dubbing. Do they still mix it? I'd sure like to buy some again.
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That dubbing wallet is probably from the 80's. There are a few Fred Reese dubbing offerings on ebay. I actually have a second wallet which was my fathers that has a different set of colors and no legend. Fred dyed all kinds of materials. I bought some good quality uniquely colored necks back in the day from him.
 
I traveled through the Williamsport - Jersey Shore - Lock Haven corridor on business quite a bit back in the day and I NEVER missed an opportunity to stop at Fred Reese's shop. In this age of cookie cutter fly tying materials, Fred's dubbing blends would be a welcome addition.
 
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Ibis Hackle

Hook - Standard wet fly
Thread - White under floss body, Black head
Ribbing - Silver tinsel
Body - White floss
Hackle - Scarlet

Amateur Tyers Fly Dictionary - J E Willmarth
 
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