The possible front end of the March Brown hatch could result this month. I have been tying chunky tannish-brown GRHE’s for nymphs and have some dozen or so adult patterns that I tied, but never got to fish last year. I thought I would tie up an emerger pattern and after that I will tie up some wet flies for the March Brown hatches, should I be fortunate enough to land on a stream with the hatch.
I tied this Emerger or Cripple pattern to somewhat follow the Quigley Cripple, but after a half dozen or so, I would not go that far. It seems serviceable enough but is a little chaotic on the front end.
I had intended to add some strands of Z-lon or Antron for a trailing shuck, but like my entire day, I could not locate it. So I used a bit too many Pheasant Tail barbs for a tail/shuck. I then tied in two additional barbs of PT and an ultra fine, copper wire rib. I wound the PT up the shank to the thorax area and tied it off, followed by the wire ribbing, wrapped in the same direction and tied off. I then dubbed a brown synthetic/rabbit blend (I am allergic to rabbit, so nose still runny) for the thorax. I followed this with a small, stacked clump of Coastal Deer hair tied in at the thorax area so the tips extend out over the eye of the hook. I finally tied in a Grizzly hackle and took several turns of hackle (perhaps one turn too many it appears). I whip finished the fly.
So, after a half dozen, the Emerger or Cripple pattern, was a bit too messy near the eye. The 8/0 thread was either to thick or I was using too much of something: deer hair, dubbing, hackle wraps, thread wraps. Sparser would do it.
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