Caddis Fly Shop: Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

This is a version of a March Brown nymph that I have used with some success for a few years now.  One of the reasons that I like this fly is that in addition to being a fair imitation of a March Brown it just looks buggy and can pass for any number of smallish mayfly nymphs that live in our rivers and streams.

• Hook: TMC 3761, size 12 (or similar)
• Bead:   3.2 mm, 1/8″ gold
• Weight:  Lead free wire, .025
• Thread/Body: Danville Flymaster 210, Brown 40
• Tail:  Black bucktail
• Rib:  Stripped peacock quill
• Wingcase: Mottled turkey primary
• Hackle:  Brown genetic hen cape
• Thorax: Peacock quill

Slide the bead over the bend in the hook and secure firmly in vice.  On this fly I usually wrap the lead free wire before I tie on.  This allows me to slide the wire forward into the bead and get and additional wrap.  The thread body of this fly ensures the lead free wire won’t go anywhere.  I usually use five wraps and then tie on:

I tie on behind the wire and wrap back about five wraps.  I then go forward securing the wire and wrap back to the back of the hook shank.  The area where I tied on now has a three deep thread wrap and the rest of the hook has been wrapped once.  With this fly it is imperative to wrap neatly as the thread will form the body.

I proceed to measure an appropriately sized bunch of bucktail and secure it using the pinch.  I wrap forward continuing to tie down the bucktail.  The hair gets thicker toward the butt ends their shape helps the body develop a nice taper.  I cut off the bucktail at the lead wire:

Next, I strip a peacock quill by using an eraser against the grain.  Visually the best quill to use is one of the one that comes from the eye as when it is stripped it has a two tone coloration.  The only problem with that is the eye quill is often very brittle leading to massive frustration.  For that reason, I often use a normal quill as I have here.  I secure the quill first at the wire and wrap the thread neatly back to the end of the hook shank and then forward forming a nice tapered body.  I wrap the quill forward and secure it:

I then tie in an appropriately sized piece of mottled turkey primary which is a little less than the gape of the hook using the gravity drop with an upward pull.  This prevents the turkey from splitting.  A  brown hen hackle off of which I have stripped the fibers from one side is tied in next.  Then it is time to tie in two or three peacock quills, twist them and wrap them forward and secure them with a couple wraps:

I only use a couple wraps to secure everything on the front of this fly as the Danville 210 leaves little room for error–it’s easy to end up with a bulky head.  You could also use two bobbins and tie off everything up front with brown 6/0 thread.  Next I wrap the hackle forward and secure it and then pull the wingcase forward and do the same.  I cut turkey primary as close as possible but often will go back and using a razor blade trim off the butt ends that I couldn’t get with the scissors.  Be very careful when doing this or you will end up with a bulky head!  Whip-finish, cement and you are done.  The completed fly:

In this video, Chris ties the Green McKenzie Caddis wet fly, a good pupa pattern to fish this spring. This is a great fly to fish in the surface film or swung near the surface. This is a pretty simple pattern, tied sparse. If you’re looking for a great article on the Green McKenzie Caddis lifecycle, check out this post on Westfly (Thanks to our photo pal Burt Banner for pointing it out).

A lot of times after these caddis hatch, they go back and dive and skirt along the water — the big black head helps the fly stay down a bit, while the deer hair wing brings it back to the surface.

Green McKenzie Caddis Wet Fly:
Thread: 6/0 Black
Hook: Tiemco 3769 size 8; Tiemco 3761 size 10
Body: New Age Chenille, Wintergreen
Collar: Patridge
Wing: Deer hair

This fly tying video demonstrates how to tie a high-visibility March Brown parachute fly — that fluorescent wing post is good for rainy days. A parachute pattern sits lower in the water than other dry flies and it makes an excellent wing silhouette. March browns have been coming off on the lower McKenzie River and the hatches will continue for the next month.

March Brown Parachute pattern:
Thread: Brown Uni 6/0
Hook: TMC 100 size 12-16 or Gamakatsu S10
Tail: Moose hair
Dubbing: Light tan fine and dry
Hackle: Whiting, grizzly dyed brown