tactics

Fishing the March Brown Hatch

By Mike Schoby

On many rivers, March browns are the year's first hatch of big bugs.

Images

(See the entomology page for photos)

pring is always heralded by a few rites of passage: dogwood trees in bloom, wet mornings with sun-baked afternoons, and March brown mayflies. They are the year's first hatch of large-sized insects and can produce excellent fishing.

The duns range in size and color depending upon the time and the region, but generally are 8-12mm long and a mottled brown color. They have tan underbellies with mottled gray, olive and brown wings. While most anglers concentrate on the adult emergence, there are many other opportunities.

Nymphs

March brown nymphs have a wide, flat body with suction-like gills on the abdomen They range in color from olive brown to dark tan, and in size from 8-9 mm.

Built for fast current on slippery rocks, they are only occasionally dislodged and taken by trout until the hatch season approaches. Then they migrate to calmer waters, and many nymphs lose their grip as they make the move. A good number end up in the belly of a waiting trout.

So as the March brown hatch season approaches, try a gold-ribbed Hares Ear, size 10-14; a beadhead version is appropriate for most waters. Drift the fly close to bottom through riffly stretches that tail-out into deep pools, or along seams between fast current and slow. I generally use this pattern under a yarn strike indicator because takes are often light. Experiment with size, color, depth, and speed of drift until the right combination is achieved.

Emergence

During the early part of a hatch, you can still fish the Hares Ear (sans beadhead), but allow it to swing to the surface at the end of the drift to imitate a rising nymph.

As the hatch starts to develop, I will usually experiment with different two-fly combinations. I'll start with an emerger pattern on the point, and a Hares Ear on a 6-16 inch dropper, depending upon water depth and stage of the hatch. Later, as the hatch progresses, I switch to a dry pattern such as a size 12-14 March brown Comparadun with another pattern, such as a CDC Cripple or Quigley Cripple, on the dropper.

I like to use patterns that ride low in the water. You'll notice that the March Brown adults remain motionless and low in the water until they take off.

In the early part of March, when the weather is still cool, emerger fishing can be deadly. There are often many cripples that do not get out of their nymphal cases, and there are literally hundreds of others that are just slow in doing so, seemingly unaware of the dangers of floating downstream stuck in the surface film of the water.

Fishing an emerging pattern during these times can be deadly. I have found that a modified Quigley Cripple tied to imitate the local March browns works wonders. There is something about the "helpless" nature of this pattern that makes it irresistible to trout. I have had my most consistent success with the cripple.

Uploaded 02/26/2001.

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