1-21-12 experimentation March Brown

[Kelly L.]

This is something I was playing with on a March Brown pattern. I do not know if someone else has one exactly like it or not. The tail is Golden Pheasant tail 2-3 fibers. The body is orange Pearsall's. I used small copper wire spaced out, to show the orange in the rear...about 4-5 turns are good. I then used March Brown Haretron dubbing by Hareline. Then for a fur collar I used pine squirrel guard hairs. The final collar is first a genetic hen from Tom Waits. The second fly is the exact same, but it used a Greater Prairie Chicken for the collar. It is hard not to get the head rather large, from tying in the pine squirrel. I tried to do better, but have not been very successful with that. The hook is a Mustad 3116A, but it can be tied on the hook of your choice. Okay, so does anyone have one just like this, or no? Thoughts are welcome.

[Hans Weilenmann]

Kelly,

Nice looking bugs.

It is hard not to get the head rather large, from tying in the pine squirrel. I tried to do better, but have not been very successful with that.

Tell me, did you use the squirrel in a dubbing loop/split thread, or do you tie in the squirrel tips pointing over the bend or over the eye?

Here is an example of what can be done using that third approach:


Flame

Especially with the additional hackle collars the influence on the head size by the squirrel can be (should be?) absent.

Cheers,
Hans W

[Mataura mayfly]

Nice ties Kelly and a lot of bugs have big heads so I would not get too concerned there.

I can be first to put my hand up and say I do not have one just like it...... yet!

[Kelly L.]

Hans, I did not tie it split thread. I have not had much luck with that. I had the middle with the Haretron dubbing. Then right in front of that, I tied in the guard hair tips, like you would a collar...the tips were pointed back towards the hook bend. I am sorry that my photos here aren't very good. I heard nobody likes the blue backgrounds, so I tried to use white. The tips of the guard hair had a little bit of the gray hairs clotting the eye of the hook. I cut it off as close as I could, then I used a carterizer to burn what was left. Then I tied in the hackle like you would a spider and used two turns of hackle.

[Kelly L.]

Nice ties Kelly and a lot of bugs have big heads so I would not get too concerned there.

I can be first to put my hand up and say I do not have one just like it...... yet!

Thank you Matura Mayfly. I wish you could see the wire in the back better. It looks like ribs, and I did it for a small bit of flash only. The body is not wound with wire, nor is there any tinsel over the dubbing either. The heads were giving me fits. I tied several, but I did not get one exactly how I wanted. I am not sure yet which feather hackle I prefer, I like both quite a bit.

Hans, the pine squirrel looks good without the hackle in front of it. I could of just left it the way it was, and it cascading over the dubbing alone, would of been a pretty fly. The pine squirrel does not have very long guard hairs from this skin. I guess next time, I will have to take more care, and pull out all I can get from the butts, before tying in the pine squirrel. Your fly is beautiful here. Thanks for posting that. My fly is more scruffy than your fly is. (I did that intentionally) You cannot see the pine squirrel in these photos properly. It darkens up the March Brown dubbing a bit. I like the colors, and think it is a pretty natural fly...the small bit of antron in the dubbing gives it a subtle flash.

[Hans Weilenmann]

Kelly,

You might try tying in the squirrel as your first material, tips pointing over the eye. That way the butts become part of the body. Next do tail, and body/rib.

Fold hair back to form your color, and fix the angle with some hard wraps. Finish off with the feather collars as you did. I generally tie in my hackles by the butt, and wrap towards the bend, tie down tip(s) and cut through with the thread at quite a steep angle to the eye, and finish off with a whip finish. As there is no material to tie down at the eye, no stubs to cover up, the result is as small an head as you may want. In fact, only a three turn whip finish can make up the 'head'.

Just some suggestions for you to work with, or not - these are your flies

Cheers,
Hans W

[Kelly L.]

Now Hans, that is an EXCELLENT idea. I should of thought of that. So tie it in like a Tenkara, otherwise the guard hairs would get trapped as I wind the Haretron dubbing in. Thank you. Then after I tie in the Haretron, I can move in front of the pine squirrel, and push it back, tie it in, and then put in the feather collar. The placement of the pine squirrel might be a little iffy, but after a couple I should know exactly where to tie it in. Did you have a preference of the hen, or the prairie chicken?
Kelly

[Hans Weilenmann]

Kelly,

Both materials are nice, but for a March Brown I would go with the first, the hen.

Cheers,
Hans W

[Kelly L.]

Thank you Hans, I think so too. Also my son likes it better as well. I only have a few of these though. They were given to me.

[CreationBear]

Another great thing about Hans' method of tying-in with the fibers out over the tip is that it also allows you to define a built-up area for the thorax--important if you're like me and your proportions seem to drift from one fly to the next. (BTW, the "tip over eye" method works for any longish fiber, whether it be, say, bronze mallard or Coq de Leon.)

Otherwise, I'm far from being proficient with silk, but one tip I've picked up is that before you whip-finish, unspin (i.e. flatten) your thread a bit--the looser strands will be less bulky than if they are tightly coiled.) At that point three wraps ought to do you, especially with a wazed thread.