March Brown Mayflies

March Brown Mayflies - fly patterns for matching western hatches.

March Brown Mayfly from the book: Hatch Guide For Western Streams by Jim Schollmeyer - CLICK HERE !

March Brown Mayfly Hatches
Rhithrogena morrisoni (that's the scientific name)
Western March Browns are your first "easy-to-see" hatch of the new season. Look for March Brown hatches on local rivers when water temperatures start reaching 42 degrees consistently. This can occur in most lower elevation water sheds in mid-

February and continues through March and early April. Hatching March Browns can create some very exciting surface film and dry fly fishing. Hatches of duns usually start in the early after noon and spinner falls are in the late evening.

Pounding the bottom with weighted March Brown Nymph flies can provide constant action from mid-morning into the early stages of the hatch. The March Brown Nymph in sizes #12 & #14 will be your bread and butter fly. However nymphal color tends to adapt to the color of the stream bed. Most March Brown nymphs are dark, some are nearly black. The #12200 nymph is often the ticket to success. Sometimes your catch will increase if you thin out the legs with your leader clipper and color them with a black felt marker. Fishing two flies at once will increase your odds of hooking up. Usually two different colors or sizes are used. Gold Rib Hares Ear and Olive Hares Ears are valuable flies to have with you and will some times out fish the more realistic patterns. Most March Brown Nymphs are fairly skinny #14's, but slightly larger flies can also work. March Brown nymphs live in riffles and fast, rocky runs. As the nymphs near maturity, they migrate to slower water. During the migration, they can loose their grip and drift in the current. For this reason trout will congregate in places where fast riffles start to slow down and on the seams between the fast and slow water. Fish your nymphs where the current changes speed. Approach the water carefully. Start by fishing the slower water first with flies that are lightly weighted. Your flies will be most effective if they are perfectly dead drift. Cast them slightly upstream and mend a little slack into you presentation. As you work your way out into the faster current, add lead shot to keep your flies near the bottom.

As the water warms at mid-day the nymph rise toward the surface to hatch. Some of these nymphs are intercepted by trout during this upward migration. Try tying a March Brown Soft Hackle to a dropper 3' above your nymphs. This technique can pay extra dividends.

As the Duns begin to hatch, trout will rise to the surface to catch them. This often produces the most visually exciting part of the day. Big trout rising to March Browns during the peak of the hatch can be very splashy. Often the rise starts much quieter as trout pick off the emergers just below the surface. And some duns will emerge from the shuck slightly below the surface. At this time a March Brown Soft Hackle or Flymph fished just below the surface can be your best fly. The Flymph is often even more effective if you add a March Brown Cripple or dry fly to a dropper 1' to 3' from your soft hackle and fish both flies dead drift.

March Browns and their possible related species seem to come in a variety of shades and colors. That is why there is some disagreement between anglers fishing different watershed as to what the actual colors of March Brown Duns are. The ones that hatch most often on the Sandy River are brown with mottled wings. We have seen that same fly on the Deschutes and Clackamas Rivers. On the Deschutes we have also seen spring time mottled wing mayflies the were grey wing olive. The trout like both kinds. Our friends that fish the McKenzie report March browns that are shades of gray. To be on the safe side you should carry several brown patterns, a blue wing olive parachute and a Parachute Adams in dark tones. If they are all #14 you're probably in the game.

Duns and emergers produce the best fishing, but some trout will sip spinners in the quietest of water. A March Brown "spinner fall" can extend your fishing day. Spinner falls usually occur over faster water areas. However they create the most reliable feeding activity if they raft up in back eddies down stream. Sometimes the afternoon back eddy rise that you think is midge emergence is actually created by collecting dead March Brown spinners.

Best tackle to fish a March Browns is a 9' #4 or #5 weight rod with an action that works easiest at the 20' to 50' cast range. I prefer a weight forward line that is a little on the heavy side, is a moderate color and is very clean so that it easily shoots smoothly at all ranges. The standard 9'-5X trout leader is good starting point. You might go to 4X if you get brutalized by big fish. Remember the best fly is the one that is perfectly placed in a risers feeding lane.
Have a great spring.

Nymphs

Floating Nymphs

Duns

Emergers, Sub-Surface

Cripples

Spinners

		March Brown Nymph Pounding the bottom with weighted March Brown Nymph flies can provide constant action from mid-morning into the early stages of the hatch. The March Brown Nymph in sizes #12 & #14 will be your bread and butter fly for March Browns. As stated above, you can chop & thin, color and texture your fly to most match the naturals. You can capture naturals with a kick-screen.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
12200-10	March Brown Nymph	10	3 for $5.85
12200-12	March Brown Nymph	12	3 for $5.85
12200-14	March Brown Nymph	14	3 for $5.85
12200-16	March Brown Nymph	16	3 for $5.85

		Gold Rib Hares Ear Nymphal color tends to adapt to the color of the stream bed. Fishing two flies at once will increase your odds of hooking up. Usually two different colors or sizes are used. A Gold Rib Hares Ear is one of those flies that look like a lot of different stream bed insects. This fly can also be a victim of markers and clippers. Has caught many trout as-is.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
12100-12	Gold Rib Hares Ear Nymph	12	3 for $5.85
12100-14	Gold Rib Hares Ear Nymph	14	3 for $5.85

		Olive Hares Ear Nymph Olive Hares Ears are valuable flies to have with you and will some times will out fish the more realistic March Brown patterns. Some years spring run-offs are small and weed growth starts early (this year)?
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
12110-12	Olive Hares Ear Nymph	12	3 for $5.85
12110-14	Olive Hares Ear Nymph	14	3 for $5.85

		March Brown Flymph Often the rise starts quietly as trout pick off the March emergers just below the surface. At this time a March Brown Flymph fished just below the surface can be your best fly.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
06257-14	March Brown Flymph	14	3 for $5.85

		March Brown Soft Hackle A March Brown Soft Hackle on a dropper 3' above your bottom pounding nymphs can pay extra dividends. A March Brown Soft Hackle fished just below the surface can be good bet during all stages of the hatch.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
06258-14	March Brown Soft Hackle	14	3 for $5.85

		Paranymph, Brown This is the March Brown May Fly as it hangs in the surface film and is wriggling from the shuck. A Bob Quigley pattern.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
Q301-14	Paranymph, Brown	14	3 for $5.85
Q301-16	Paranymph, Brown	16	3 for $5.85

		March Brown Cripple You can fish the cripple like a dry fly by itself or it can be very effective if you add March Brown Cripple to a dropper 1' to 3' from your dry fly and fish both flies dead drift. A Bob Quigley pattern.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
Q1007-14	March Brown Cripple	14	3 for $5.85

		Hackle-Stacker Sparkle Dun, March Brown This is the March Brown May fly as it is sliding out of or is trapped in side the nymphal shuck. A Bob Quigley pattern.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
Q1029-14	H.S. Sparkle Dun, March Brown	14	3 for $5.85

		Loopwing Paradun, March Brown This is a realistic pattern that can be very effective under all conditions but especially under the slick water bright light condition where fish can be very wary. Because this fly is fragile it should be saved for special occasions. A Bob Quigley pattern.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
Q235-14	Loopwing Paradun, March Brown	14	3 for $5.85

		March Brown Traditional Dun This versatile "easy to see" fly is proven under a wide variety of conditions. It may be fished "in the round" or the hackle can be trimmed on the bottom for a lower silhouette.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
3049-14	March Brown Traditional Dun	14	3 for $5.85

		March Brown Twilight Hair Wing Dun This is our most popular dry fly for the March Brown hatch. The red Antron fibers on the front of the wing help you see the fly. If you get refusals from the fish, you can clip the bright fibers from the wing.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
3051-14	March Brown Twilight Hair Wing Dun	14	3 for $5.85

		March Brown Parachute This very effective low floating quill body dry fly has a wing post made from lightweight highly visible poly. It is very easy to see, especially on dark overcast days.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
3052-14	March Brown Parachute	14	3 for $5.85
3052-16	March Brown Parachute	16	3 for $5.85

		Blue Wing Olive Loop Wing Paradun This is a proven pattern for March browns that are olive tones. These flies occur on some rivers more frequently than you might expect.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
Q210-14	Blue Wing Olive Loop Wing Paradun	14	3 for $5.85

		Parachute Adams Traditional, White Wing This is one of the most popular dry flies in the Pacific Northwest. It is used to imitate a wide variety of mayfly and caddis species. It is often the best searching pattern when no surface activity apparent. The wing is made from white calf body hair.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
1034-12	Parachute Adams Traditional, White Wing	12	3 for $5.85
1034-14	Parachute Adams Traditional, White Wing	14	3 for $5.85

		March Brown Spinner A March Brown "spinner fall" can extend your fishing day. Spinner falls usually occur over faster water areas. However they create the most reliable feeding activity if they raft up in back eddies down stream. Sometimes the evening back eddy rise that you think is midge emergence is actually created by collecting dead March Brown spinners.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
3057-14	March Brown Spinner	14	3 for $5.85

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