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Soft Hackle March Brown ![]() Tying Instructions |
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Notes: You may see the term "Spider" attached to a soft hackle pattern. This is a term that originated in Yorkshire and has been used for over 200 years. Most of the spider patterns are thin bodies of thread, floss, or dubbed with a sparse hackle of 1-2 wraps. The term "Spider" will often be used interchangeably with "Soft Hackle" in our western patterns and the tail can be absent from both. The term "Flymphs" is a name for a soft hackle that Pete Hidy and Jim Leisenring came up with in 1971 in their book, "The Art of Tying the Wet Fly and fishing the Flymph". Basically, it is a transitional pattern between a nymph and the "Spider" form of the soft hackle, also known as a wingless, wet fly. The flymph has a much more fibrous body than a spider that is capable of trapping air bubbles when popped through the water surface. The hackle is usually a hen hackle and wrapped over the thorax area. The trapped bubbles give the pattern a natural imitation of caddis pupae and emerging mayflies. Silk threads are traditional for tying soft hackles and colors of Primrose, Orange, Red, and Green are often used. Some patterns call for Pearsall's Gossamer Silk Thread, which has been discontinued but others, such as Ephemera Silk Thread, are still available. If not available, many tyers will use the standard nylon threads. Soft Hackle March Browns are emergers and the traditional way of fishing these patterns is to cast quartering downstream allowing a downstream drift to take place. The fly will cut across the current on the swing and the angler should mend the line to slow that swing. At the end of the swing, left the rod and take a couple steps downstream prior to making another cast. With this method, you can cover most of the water which can be helpful especially if you don't know where the fish are. |
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March Brown Spider![]() |
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March Brown Soft Hackle![]() |
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March Brown Flymph![]() |
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