Before the days of fancy fly floatants and other products designed to
keep dry flies drier for longer, fly tyers relied heavily on the
physical properties of natural materials to do the trick.
The
Cul du Canard or "CDC" feather of a common duck is found and harvested
from an area near the animal's preen glands, the center where natural
oils are produced in order to keep the duck warm and dry on the water.
CDC feathers are impregnated with these oils and are extremely water
repellent, an attribute many fly tyers of the past exploited to keep
their flies riding high and dry.
The CDC Rusty Spinner March
Brown is an effective imitation of a March Brown mayfly in the spinner
life stage. This design boasts long and defined split tails and spent
wings of CDC for a smooth and dry flush-with-the-surface drift. This
classic will have trout in a frenzy and it'll perform cast after cast.
Specifications:
- This fly pattern includes naturally water repellent CDC feathers as wings, allowing it to sit flush with the surface through the drift
- The fly sports a thick abdomen, prominent tails, and spent wings of CDC feathers
- March Brown imitation in the spinner life stage
- These bugs are active in the spring from May to June
- Use as a realistic imitation when matching the hatch during a spinner fall
- Fish on a dead drift in medium and slow water; slow-moving eddys can be extremely productive during and after a spinner fall
- Best results early in the morning or later in the evening
- Minimize surface commotion in clear or shallow water by using long leaders and light tippet
- Giving the fly a few twitches during the drift can simulate the struggle of a spent insect and attract opportunistic trout
- When imitating a drowned spinner, it's often useful to use a nymphing strategy with a strike indicator and a short leader
- SIZE 14
When and Where to Fish the CDC Biot Rusty Spinner March Brown
This
mayfly spinner can be fished as a realistic imitation when matching the
hatch. March Brown spinners are not generally numerous in the western
United States, but are active in great numbers in the eastern states.
When fishing a spinner fall, these bugs will float and drift along the
water’s surface for some distance from faster riffles to slower water,
so try this pattern out as the first spent adults begin to fall from
nearby vegetation. When trout are keyed in spent March Brown spinners,
look for the gentle, sipping rises of feeding fish and cast your
spinner pattern to these areas of subtle and consistent activity. This
bug will yield the best results in areas where March Brown spinners are
visible along the surface film in the main drift. Slow-moving eddys
below faster riffles and runs often collect large numbers of spent
mayflies and are prime spots for hungry trout during and after an
intense spinner fall. March Browns are active in in the spring from May
to June.
How to Fish the CDC Biot Rusty Spinner March Brown
Fish
this fly on a dead drift through medium to slow water below faster
riffles and runs. Always be careful to make sure your offering is
riding high in the surface film, the zone where spinners collect. When
fishing this fly pattern in shallow water of good to excellent clarity,
be very careful not to disturb the holding trout. Be sure to select a
longer leader with lighter diameter tippet material; creating too much
commotion on the water’s surface with heavy or otherwise inappropriate
terminal tackle can spook wary trout. Adding a few twitches to the rod
tip during the drift can simulate the final movements of a spent mayfly
spinner. Some spinners are actually swept below the surface and when
imitating these bugs it can be useful to fish your fly wet with a
common nymphing technique.
March Brown
These olive green or dark brown colored,
medium-sized clinging nymphs are loved throughout North America for
their prolific early-season hatches in fast water. March Browns in the
nymph stage are easily identified by their wide and extremely flat
bodies, broad heads, large upward-looking eyes, and three long tails.
These insects follow the common life cycle of mayflies and thrive in
the rocky substrate of well-oxygenated and rapidly moving aquatic
systems. They are prolific in very fast riffles, current seams, and the
lower energy areas below and near these high energy environments. March
Browns emerge to adult duns during the morning and afternoon hours of
the early portion of the season (March through May). As winged adults
these mayflies display characteristic speckled wings, banded abdomens,
low-profile heads, and long twin tails. The March Brown’s wide
distribution and long hatches make this a favorite offering of fly
anglers itching to fish the early season action after a long winter of
fly tying, rod-building, and dreaming of fly fishing.
March Brown Spinner Life Stage
After
hatching into winged adults, March Brown duns will flutter to nearby
foliage and vegetation prior to mating. After emergence, males will
create large mating swarms above faster riffles and females will fly
into these clouds of sexually mature males. After the females are
fertilized, they will deposit their eggs on the surface of the faster
water. Both males and females will fall as spent spinners to the
surface film, some will float high on the water and others will be
swept below the surface. Falls of March Brown spinners can be very
thick and when the water is thick with these spent bugs, trout rise
feed voraciously on the surface.
Leland on Umpqua
In
1972 a man named Dennis Black and his fly tying skills found themselves
in high demand. Mr. Black, then a professional production fly tyer, was
famous in the industry for his unsurpassed skill and speed with
whipping up tremendously beautiful and precisely constructed flies. It
wasn’t long until this young fly tying superstar realized that he ought
to take his consistent approach to quality to the next level. Shortly
after this realization, a small army of fly tyers had banded together
to support Mr. Black’s vision. With the likes of Dave Whitlock, Jack
Dennis, and Andy Puyans, Mr. Black was officially in business.
Dennis
Black’s new company Umpqua Feather Merchants quickly extended its reach
and fly production capabilities with expansion into India, Sri Lanka,
and Thailand, where the world’s first and full blown “fly tying
factories” were built. Since those early days, only the highest
standard of excellence has marked Umpqua and this commitment to quality
and efficiency continues to spur the company forward. Dennis Black’s
innovative vision for “fly production” has truly revolutionized how the
fly industry operates and has ultimately made the majority of
production flies better. From the first “royalty system” for rewarding
the most creative professional fly tyers to streamlining production
systems and offering a range of other products, Umpqua Feather
Merchants just seems to “do it all.”
Today, Umpqua Feather
Merchants is without a doubt the world’s best and most prolific
supplier of hand tied fly fishing flies as well as fly tying hooks and
materials, and they recently got better! Umpqua’s brand new, state of
the art headquarters in Louisville, Colorado marks another paradigm
shift in the way fly tying business is done. From its vast warehouse to
its specially designed inventory management and tracking system, Umpqua
is poised to continue its energetic trajectory and lead the way for the
next generation of flies and fly tyers.
Umpqua on Umpqua
"As you may or may not know, we're the
largest producer of quality hand-tied flies in the world. We also make
available through your local fly shop a wide array of the finest
fly-tying hackle and Tiemco hooks.
At Umpqua we offer
everything the angler needs to a have a first class fishing experience.
(Everything that is, but the water and the fish.)"
Umpqua on Dennis Black and the “Obvious Quest”
“The idea
first took shape in the hands of our founder, Dennis Black, back in
1972. As a fast and facile professional fly tyer, Dennis was known for
his skill and speed at producing hundreds of dozens of flies each year
for the larger mail order houses. But he was also quick to realize how
fast the demand for excellent flies would outstrip the abilities of
cottage industry types like him.
The Obvious Quest: To create
excellent flies in sufficient supply – without sinking his standards.
In response, Dennis developed (with characteristic care) a methodical
plan: First, he enlisted the tying expertise of the likes of Dave
Whitlock, Jack Dennis, Andy Puyans and others, to help him set the
standard of excellence for Umpqua flies.
Next, Dennis
established the first of what would eventually be five separate
fly-tying “factories,” first in India, then in Sri Lanka, and finally
in Thailand. The primary focus at each of these factories was on
producing the very best fishing flies possible, constructed of the very
best materials available. From the beginning, the quantity of flies
produced was secondary to the quality and excellence of each fly
pattern. These high standards were assured by the personal involvement
of the fly designers themselves, and by the ever-increasing skill,
imagination and creativity of the Umpqua production fly tiers. Today,
you will find no flies more skillfully tied than those available from
Umpqua Feather Merchants.
Finally, Dennis created a system of
royalty payments, to reward professional tyers like Whitlock, Lefty
Kreh, Randall Kaufman, Larry Dahlberg, and Bob Popovics for uniquely
good patterns.
The Result: Today, Umpqua produces umpteen
thousand dozen flies, from micro-scopic midge imitations to the huge
patterns favored by marlin and sailfish. And the "Umpquality" – you’ll
see for yourself.”
