My favorite dry fly pattern is the March Brown. It hatches throughout the day and just not an hour or so. It is a big meaty clumsy fly and when they are active i don't usually have problems catching a few trout on this dry fly pattern. On rainy days, stained water or the trout just aren't looking up, i'll go with a March Brown nymph pattern. Here's one to try out.
thread: brown 6/0
hook: #12 or #10 standard nymph 1X or 2X long
underbody: lead wire
tail: three ringneck pheasant tail barbs
rib: brown thread
abdomen: amber and tan seal fur mixed.
thorax: same as abdomen
wingcase: dark turkey tail section folded over thorax
legs: brown india hen back or similar
head: turkey section folded.
1. thread base hook shank and counter wrap lead wire as shown.
2. tie in one pheasant tail fiber in line with hook shank for center tail.
3. make small dubbing ball atop of pheasant tail where hook bends and shaft end.
4. tie in the remaining pheasant tail fibers on each side of dubbing ball as shown.
5. tie in brown thread in front of dubbing ball and bring thread in front of lead wire.
twist dubbing on thread in one direction
6. wrap dubbed thread towards rear of hook.
(when i want to make a fat bulky body this is the way i dub it)
7. now add more dubbing to thread and wrap towards front of hook as shown leaving room for thorax.
8. wind brown thread forward in open wraps, tie down and trim tag end.
9. pick out dubbed body on each side to suggest a wide flat body.
10. tie in turkey section, as shown, facing over rear of hook
11. dub thorax (leave room for heaad.)
12. pull off the fibers from a brown soft hackle feather. India hen feather
and tie them in beneath thorax
13. trim butts of soft hackle and fold turkey section over dubbed thorax.
14. after tying down wingcase, fold extended turkey section back over wingcase and tie in, behind eye, leaving some of the turkey feather in front of thorax as head.
15. trim, tie down and whip finish
