Bodkin / Patterns

March Brown Ak's

Dry Fly · Trout · Intermediate · 1 version

Reference Recipe

  • Hook Standard dry-fly hook, 12
  • Thread Tan / camel 8/0 (70 denier)

Materials

  • Spade or saddle hackle fibers (tail) Dark ginger indian rooster saddle feathers (6-8 fibers)
  • Stripped and dyed hackle quill (body) Brown hackle (1 quill)
  • Wood duck flank (wing) Natural barred wood duck flank (1 clump)
  • Dry-fly hackle Grizzly hackle (1 feather)
  • Dry-fly hackle Dark ginger / brown dry fly hackle (1 feather)

How to tie it

  1. Start thread at the 70% mark and strip a clump of wood duck flank. Tie it in as a single upright wing, post it vertical, and split it into two divided wings with figure-8 wraps and a thread dam in front.
  2. Run thread to the bend and tie in 6-8 stiff dark ginger fibers as a tail about one shank long.
  3. Tie in a stripped brown quill by its tip, then wind it forward in touching turns to build a segmented, buggy abdomen up to the wing.
  4. Tie in the grizzly and brown hackles together behind the wing.
  5. Wind both hackles together, a few turns behind the wing and a few in front, for a mixed dark collar, then tie off.
  6. Whip finish a small head and add a drop of cement.

Tying videos

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