march brown color

[alatt]

What is your favorite dubbing, and color for a march brown dun.

 

[dryflyguy]

I got mine from Kettle Creek tackle shop. I believe it's Phils own blend of fur. He sells it as "Hatching Mayfly" dubbing - and has a color for every mayfly in the book.
The march brown color is creamy beige.

Traditional patterns call for a dark brown ribbing on the body also. But it's kinda fragile, and usually breaks after catching a fish or two. And I quit adding it to the body.

 

[lestrout]

Yo ala

MBs vary in color, according to the watershed. I like to use buttonhole twist in brown or orange for the ribbing, being that these are big flies and there is plenty of room to do the ribbing. Buttonhole twist is pretty thick and has been durable enough for me.

 

[gutcutter]

Here's what works for me:
Nature's Spirit Fine Natural Dubbing. Color #34
TroutHunter ProDub. TannishYellow
TCO East Coast Dubbing. March Brown.
Ribbed with Camel 6/0 UniThread
Size 12 xl hook - Daiichi1280, Dohiku301, TMC5212, Hends321

 

[OldLefty]

My observations reveal the dark ringing of the abdomen is on the top, not the bottom; hence, I do not rib my March Brown duns. Spinners are another matter.

 

[gutcutter]

Here are a few of the dry fly body styles I tie for the MB hatch.
The coloring/shade and the size (12xl vs 10xl) differ from region to region (and even from one stream to another)

Robert's Drake version

CDC hackle stacker version

Sometimes I tie for "me" and add the prominent stripe on the dorsal side of the abdomen although I know the trout will never see it.

 

[TYoung]

Here is a close up of what the actually fly looks like.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

I agree about omitting the darker ribbing. More important, I think, is a beefy profile. These are fat mayflies compared to others like olives, Hendricksons, and yellow suphurs.

 

[Reeder]

cream/light tan mix with no ribbing

 

[bigjohn58]

I tie some of my march browns with a more yellowish dubbing. A lot of the ones I see are more on the yellow side. I have about half tied tan and half tied yellow.

 

[IdratherbePhishing]

I would use a Maurice

 

[gutcutter]

I guess I see things differently.

 

[jkeating]

rene harrop golden brown/rust 50/50 mix

 

[bigjohn58]

gutcutter wrote:
I guess I see things differently.

The belly under side that the trout see the most of is usually a yellowish color. I know in that photo it looks all brown but that's just the top portion.

 

[NewSal]

bigjohn58 wrote:

gutcutter wrote:
I guess I see things differently.

The belly under side that the trout see the most of is usually a yellowish color. I know in that photo it looks all brown but that's just the top portion.

Bingo, I don't understand how belly color gets overlooked by people. If you're fishing a traditional dry fly, what do you think the trout see? - This isnt about anyone personally but I've seen this repeated in the fly tying world - ignoring belly color, and tying strictly off of pictures. - Most of the time I've seen patterns online, they don't match the natural bugs locally, so its a good idea (to me), to sample the actual bugs your imitating before choosing dubbing color