This pattern is a good match for the Little Black Stoneflies of the genus Taeniopteryx, which begin hatching in the Catskills about the fourth week in February, and the Little Brown Stoneflies of the genus Strophopteryx, which begin hatching in the Catskills about the second week in March. There are genera of stoneflies that hatch even earlier in the season, but these earlier hatches are best imitated by nymphs and are not likely to produce dry fly action.1 They crawl out of the water to emerge.1 Some do not even have functional wings and those that do are not active fliers.1 Although, like many stoneflies, Taeniopteryx and Strophopteryx emerge by crawling out of the water, these two genera can also hatch in the river, resulting in adults on the surface.1 They are also clumsy fliers which fall into and/or are blown into the river. Depending on the water temperature and the abundance of these flies on the surface, dry fly action is a possibility.
Although the Wonder Wing style seems to have come from Europe, Chauncy K. Lively and Al Beatty were two American anglers that often used this style in their fly patterns. The wing is formed by reversing the barbs of a large hackle. The section of the hackle used for the wing should be taken from above all the fluff and have very little web. The stem is cut out of the butt end of the hackle, and the barbs are stroked backwards past where the stem was removed. Head cement is applied and after drying a kind of veined teardrop is formed. The length of the wing should be the length of the hook from the eye to the bend. Lively’s original version was tied on a # 20 up eyed hook. It was once thought that up eyed hooks on small flies resulted in better hookups by providing better gap clearance. This debate, however, is best left for another article. The fly tied in this article was tied on a #16 Mustad 94842 up eyed hook keeping with the style of the original pattern. Any dry fly hook could be used. Lively recommends placing the wing in a hackle plier as it dries. I had trouble getting it in the hackle plier. One side kept coming out. I held the wing between my fingers until tacky then squeezed the ends of the fibers together. I gently laid it on my tying desk to finish drying. The fly has a front and rear hackle with a dubbed body in between. Because the rear hackle supports the bend, no tail is required. The rear hackle also represents the rear legs of the natural. Lively recommends mounting the rear hackle shiny side forward and the front hackle dull side forward. Be careful not to crowd the eye with the front hackle. There needs to be space to tie in the wing. The hackle is notched on top so the wing can be placed flat, downwing style. The hackle is also notched on the bottom so the fly sits flat and horizontal like the natural. Trimming the notch in the bottom also prevents the rear hackle fibers from blocking the hook gap which could result in a missed fish.
The wing is the “secret” to the fly. It keeps its shape while casting even after it gets wet. The flat downwing style of the Wonder Wing, with its rounded end and vein pattern, make the fly look very much like the natural. The rear and front hackles do a good job of mimicking the legs of natural insect and allow you to add movement to the fly. We’ve all seen stoneflies skittering across the surface. There is, however, one downfall to this style of wing. I would consider this a one fish fly. The teeth of a hooked fish are likely to pull the wing apart. I wouldn’t let that stop you from fishing the fly. One fish on a dry fly at this time of the year, especially if it’s a large fish, is in my opinion worth it.
Material List:
Hook: #12-16 Dry Fly Hook
Thread: Black 6/0 or 8/0
Hackle: Dark Brown
Body: Ruddy Brown Dubbing
Wing: Large Black Hackle (Reversed - Wonder Wing Style)
1) Paul Weamer, Pocketguide to New York Hatches, pp. 134-139
2) Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer, Fly Tier’s Benchside Reference to Techniques and Dressing Styles, p. 260
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The fly can be quite challenging to tie. It involves Lively’s clipped palmer style of hackling, where the hackles are wound from front to rear and tied off at the rear of the fly. A V-shaped notch is then cut out from the bottom of the hackle. According to Lively, hackling the fly this way supports and balances the fly, requires no tail support and allows the use of soft lemon Wood Duck flank tails which can be angled upward for a more realistic posture of the natural insect. The wings are shaped from ringneck pheasant back feathers. Lively used scissors and toenail clippers, giving credit to Poul Jorgensen for this technique, to shape the wings. He mentions that Wing Cutters could also be used. The pattern shown here used a third option - Wing Burners. Regardless of the method used, it would be beneficial to first shape and size all the wings for the total number of flies that you are tying. Pheasant back was chosen for the wings because it matches the prominently mottled wing coloration of the natural insect. The wings must be flat, not twisted, and have the proper height and width or the fly might twist your tippet when casting. Using a stout 4X or even 3X leader, if the fish will let you get away with it, can also help reduce tippet twisting. The dubbing for this fly is “Fawn” colored which could be described as slightly darker than cream and lighter than brown. Natural furs mentioned by Lively were Australian Opossum and Cross Fox. He also gives the option for using a synthetic dubbing which was used in the fly shown. While the original pattern ties in the tail first, the pattern shown tied in the wings first and then the tail to avoid constantly repositioning the soft tail fibers.
The Pheasant-Winged March Brown Dun was a fun challenge to tie. Its unique style adds an aesthetic look and new arsenal to any fly box. Giving it a try on the water might just catch you a good fish.
Pattern Recipe:
Hook: #12 Dry Fly
Thread: Brown 8/0 or 6/0
Wing: Ringneck Pheasant Back Feathers
Tail: Lemon Wood Duck Flank Fibers
Dubbing: Fly-Rite #30 March Brown or any tan substitute
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Tapered eyes are most commonly found on trout hooks. Tapered eyes generally are round in shape. The wire for the eye terminates either into the eye or the end of the shank. The wire at some point, either at the end of the shank or just into the eye the diameter gets progressively thinner. The big advantage of tapered eyes is the deduction of bulk, which makes the hooks less front heavy and in the case of dry flies, easier to float. Tapered eyes are generally the weakest eye design, but are rarely ever used in large enough hooks that it would be the point of failure. Often a tapered eye on a trout hook is far stronger than the bend of the hook.
Ringed eyes or ball eyes (from a manufacturing standpoint) are extremely efficient to produce and are very strong. They have no taper coming off the shank and terminate into the eye or end of the shank. They are a staple predator, saltwater, stinger, straight eye steelhead and salmon, any application where hook strength is a must. Their downside can be their bulkiness (for some trout wet, nymph and streamer flies this is an added advantage) and they are not the most visually appealing for some fly designs.
A loop eye can be in a variety of shapes, but their common trait is rather than turning into itself, the return wire, as it is called, runs parallel to the shank before ending. It is considered a very strong type of eye, because when the return wire is tied tight to the shank when the fly is tied, and the pressure on the eye is split between both sides of the eye. Loop eyes are produced in tapered or untapered, with tapered generally representing higher quality hooks. The taper can start just before the start of the eye and ends at the tip of the return. Although there is extra material to create the return wire, it is minimal for the amount of strength the design offers. Loop eyes are available in any orientation, but are most seen on up or down eyes as the best way to increase strength. They are rarely used for straight eyes as a ringed eye is often the most efficient design choice, if less visually appealing.
When all is said and done, it is hard to day and design is best. It all comes down to application and angler preference. The variation of hook eyes serves in both practical application for fishing flies as well as a design and style perfect for tyers who like to dabble in the art of fly tying and presentation.