Large brook dun / march brown fly fishing – emerger & dun fly patterns by Steffan Jones

Large brook dun / march brown fly fishing pattern – by Steffan Jones

I am not much of an entomologist – I am the first to admit this. Is it a midge or a gnat? It is small and black, so that will do me. You then often witness great debates over march brown vs. large brook dun. To the untrained eye – me being one of them – they look virtually identical and I really doubt that the fish can distinguish to that level of detail either. As such, when it comes to such ‘dilemmas’ I tend to go for a generic pattern that covers both – you can’t go far wrong then. Of course, they do tend to hatch at different times, with the march brown being the first to emerge in spring and then the brook duns a few weeks later. However, if one pattern represents both, then you are already covered and precise identification matters very little thereafter – not in my eyes or, perhaps more importantly, the fish’s eyes…

march brown, large brook dun, fly tying, Fishing Wales, fly fishing wales, guiding wales, guide wales, steffan jones, river teifi, river towy, river taff, river usk, river wye, river dee, river severn, brown trout

The following covers what I need for both and in the emerger and adult form. Do carry them in a couple of different sizes, to make sure you have all bases covered.

Pattern 1; March Brown / Brook Dun emerger pattern

brook dun, march brown, fly tying, fly fishing, entomology, brown trout, brown trout flies, catching brown trout, fishing taff, fishing tips, fishing usk, fishing wales, fly tying, river ebbw, river Teifi, steffan jones

Hook: Partridge 15BN or K12ST in size 12

Thread: Brown veevus 14/0

Tail: Dark olive or brown cock hackle fibres

Body: Brown hare’s ear dubbing

Rib: Yellow funkyflexi – one strand split in half to form a finer strand, then fully stretched when ribbing

Loop-Wing: Four natural cdc feathers – Tied in by the tips, thorax dubbed, then looped over loosely and secured

Thorax: natural fox squirrel dubbing

Head: Spectra dubbing – #45 black peacock

brook dun, brown trout, brown trout flies, catching brown trout, entomology, fishing taff, fishing tips, fishing usk, fishing wales, fly fishing, fly tying, march brown, river ebbw, river Teifi, steffan jones

Pattern 2; March Brown / Brook Dun dry pattern

march brown, large brook dun, fly tying, Fishing Wales, fly fishing wales, guiding wales, guide wales, steffan jones, river teifi, river towy, river taff, river usk, river wye, river dee, river severn, brown trout

Hook: Partridge SUD or L5A size 10

Thread: Brown veevus 14/0

Tail: Dark olive or brown cock hackle fibres

Body: Brown hare’s ear dubbing

Rib: Yellow funkyflexi – one strand split in half to form a finer strand, then fully stretched when ribbing

Wing: Three natural cdc feathers – dressed forward then doubled with the stubs cut at an angle

Hackle: Speckled brown hen saddle such as brahma or coq de leon, alternatively brown partridge

Head: Spectra dubbing – #45 black peacock

Tight lines!

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By steff | 10/02/2019 | Brown Trout, Fly Patterns |