Hi, has anyone got a good tying for the march brown, with the trip to the Don in April, I want to be prepared for all eventualities.
cheers, Brian.
I use a what is I suppose basically just a MB spider, but with a long black cock hackle wound through the partridge hackle and a fine copper wire rib over hares ear or possum body. Tail is black cock fibres. I know the MB has no black on it, but it still works (sometimes). To be honest I use this fly as a top dropper on lochs too and it works as a dark olive as well. I don't have a name for it. Think I'll call it the Laphroaig, for no particular reason. :?
An Adams, parachute or otherwise, also gets a regular trial.
Both flies in a size 12.
This year I intend to fish emergers (DHE) along with a MB spider rather than dries, unless the fish are obviously sipping down the duns. I say I'm going to do this every year and end up just putting a dry on and getting fewer fish than I should.
I find the fish in the fast water, where the MBs are hatching, are usually taking the nymphs and emergers furiously, whereas the fish feeding in the softer water and in the pool tails will take a dry more readily.
Alex
Hook - 10 or 12 lightweight (Kamasan b170 or similar)
Tail - a few strands of Deer hair
Body - Tan poly dubbing
Wing - tan poly yarn, either as a tuft or a loop, sloping back at 45 deg
Thorax - tan poly
Hackle - Red game over thorax. Clipped in a vee below
This was in a Trout & Salmon about 10 years ago. It's caught me lots of fish with or without March Browns on the water.
About 3 years ago on beat 2 (or was it 3?? :?) on Monymusk, directly opposite a huge hoose next to the river I cast to a steadily rising fish, hooked it at the second offer & thought 'this is a nice fish'. When I couldn't shift it I thought 'this is a REALLY nice fish'. Managed to get it to my side of the river and saw a fish about 5 lbs or so , when it got closer I noticed it was a funny colour and the water was clear enough to see its shape. It was no trout but a bloody salmon! Unfortunately when it saw me it decided it had an important meeting in Aberdeen, turned tail and shot off............................................. You know the rest :( :( :violin :violin
Pete, I think the big hoose you mention is Sir Archie Grant - laird of Monymusk's mansion. A man dearly loved and highly respected in the area.
Quote from: admin on January 19, 2007, 09:50:18 AM
Pete, I think the big hoose you mention is Sir Archie Grant - laird of Monymusk's mansion. A man dearly loved and highly respected in the area.
Are you being sarcastic???
Quote from: rabbitangler on January 19, 2007, 08:50:22 PM
Quote from: admin on January 19, 2007, 09:50:18 AM
Pete, I think the big hoose you mention is Sir Archie Grant - laird of Monymusk's mansion. A man dearly loved and highly respected in the area.
Are you being sarcastic???
Does saxifrage flower in the Scottish Highlands? :D
Col,
http://www.fish4flies.com/Dry/Hackled/Dogsbody
Alex
I tied some of these up this evening. Should work fine, all the wing is for is to make it easier to see on the water. I reckon it would work OK in a mayfly hatch too, perhaps with a dirty yellow body
[attachimg=1]
I just tied it parachute so the elk wing would be more visible to me. Much easier and quicker to tie the hackle in standard, quite a lot of turns and clip in underneath. More robust too
That Elk job looks the dogsbollocks never mind dogsbody.
Alex
Fred, what the fox that new purple smiley all about? :gay4
Ah! Gay as an Autumn's morn eh? :lol:
Alex
Quote from: haresear on January 22, 2007, 11:09:56 PM
That Elk job looks the dogsbollocks never mind dogsbody.
Quite honestly when the fish are "on" they will take anything that looks vaguely similar to what they are taking don’t you think? On Sletil a few years back during a mayfly hatch John was taking them on a massive green drake with partridge wings tied fan style, I was getting them on one of Wyatt's claret DHS and Martin was getting them on something completely different – can't remember what it was. As long as it was big and floated they were not fussed. The Don trout have a reputation for being hard to catch, they are no harder than anywhere else – it's just they don't rise very freely and sit on the bottom most of the time. When they do rise even I can catch them so they are not that difficult. :D
Aye you are right about big dries. Fishing wee loch Awe in a Mayfly hatch I had done OK on Mayflyimitations, thenI shoved one of these on and they murdered it. http://www.flyshop.co.nz/page/F/PROD/umpqua_dozen/d_general_terrestrial
Alex
I'll try this one during the mayfly hatches this year. Same as the previous one but body yellow and hackle tied standard and clipped. You can knock flies like this up in next to no time. Scruffy but even the bonniest fly is after a few casts. Bet this would work as a MB too
[attachimg=1]
Quote from: haresear on January 22, 2007, 11:29:14 PM
Fishing wee loch Awe in a Mayfly hatch I had done OK on Mayflyimitations, thenI shoved one of these on and they murdered it
Now THAT is some flee! :freeked
QuoteCaenis imitation isn't it Alex?
More like a canine imitation Ardbeg :)
I like the mayfly Fred. I must get my arse in gear and tie some up.
Alex
Steve,
You are right. Most of us carry far too many flies. I have hundreds and use maybe a dozen patterns max. Carrying too many flies is to my mind just lack of confidence, at least in part anyway. In realty a few in various sizes will cover most of your needs.
Alex,
These are the first flies I have tied since the end of last season (swap flies excepted). Reason? I rarely tie in winter now because I believe it disconnects the tying from my fishing too much. Certainly not the best time to try new ideas because by the time you get round to trying them the impetus and even the original motivation and idea may be lost. One exception is a few stock flies that I can’t buy like the DHE . All run of the mill flies I just buy (most parachutes, hoppers, daddies, butchers, invictas etc ) because they are so cheap it's not worth the time, material and effort doing it yourself. If I can buy 10 hoppers and daddies for 3 quid, and butchers etc for even less what's the point?
I use that Keough cape for most stuff now. Grizzly died dark olive, great long buggers of hackles. These capes are very good value – not for the really tiny flies but cover most normal stuff.
QuoteAll run of the mill flies I just buy
I must confess to doing the same as you Fred. The only flies I tie these days are the ones I can't buy (my own artistic :lol:creations) or where (in the case of nymphs) I want to control the amount of weight in the fly.
I have a few good capes, but hadn't heard of the Keough ones. Will check them out.
Alex
You might like to try this;
http://www.danica.com/flytier/tzuellich/hares_ear_dry_fly.htm
Trad.
Looks nice Mike, how difficult is it to tie that "dubbing hackle "
Quote from: admin on January 24, 2007, 06:01:33 PM
Looks nice Mike, how difficult is it to tie that "dubbing hackle "
Dead easy, and it is a lot more robust and "floatable", than any feather hackled fly. ( Cheap as well! :) )
There are several ways of doing it. One may use a dubbing loop, or the "split thread" technique. Just select a small bunch of hare fur, either from the ear, or body fur. Cut it, and remove the underfur. Place this in the loop, ( or split thread), and twist. Wind in as normal, using the fingers to "persuade" the hair to go where you want it to.
Also absolutely first class for parachute hackles;
http://www.danica.com/flytier/tzuellich/foam_hare_klink.htm
I use a lot of hair flies. Hare, rabbit, fox, seal etc etc.
TL
MC
Mike,
I'll give that a go. I noticed after posting the above that Hans has a step by step on the tying of this fly on his site. I'll perhaps try a loop rather than splitting the thread as I break thread all the time in normal use.
How do you gink that fly? All of it or just part as with Bob Wyatt's DHE
You can use gink on the hare fur if you want, but it floats quite well without.
TL
MC
This is the best fly I've seen for a March Brown Spinner :)
A dry Greenwell, Olive or Pheasant Tail would do.
(http://www.ftscotland.co.uk/gallery/flies/naturals/march-brown-spinner-007.jpg)
Sandy - that's not the ball of your thumb the fly's sitting on is it?? :D :D
Gerry
NO, it's a fence post :)
Great fly Sandy cannot see the hook. :clap;
Davie