Brown Mallard Flank Feathers

Brown Mallard Flank Feathers

Brown doesn’t get anybody excited on Instagram. It does get fish in the net. Most of what lives in a river is some shade of brown, and barred brown flank is the closest thing to a natural bug leg you can buy in a bag. Old-school wet flies, crayfish for smallmouth, legs on any nymph you own. Boring color. Busy feather.

What you get: About 60 feathers in a 2 gram bag, mixed sizes. Hand-sorted, junk removed.

Recipe 1: March Brown Flank Wet

• Hook: Wet fly hook, #10–#14
• Thread: Orange or brown 8/0
• Tail: Brown mallard flank fibers, short
• Body: Hare’s ear dubbing, buggy
• Rib: Fine gold wire
• Hackle: Brown partridge, 2 turns, sparse
• Wing: Brown mallard flank, a bunch of fibers tied low over the body

How to fish it: This is a swing fly. Cast across, mend once, and let it come around on a tight line. Fish it in a team of two, 3 feet apart. During a March Brown or caddis hatch, trout hammer it at the end of the swing. Don’t strike. Let the fish hook itself.

Recipe 2: Brown Flank Crayfish

• Hook: 3x long streamer, #4–#6
• Thread: Brown 6/0
• Eyes: Medium lead dumbbell, tied on top so the hook rides up
• Antennae: Brown mallard flank fibers, long, plus 2 strands of root beer Krystal Flash
• Claws: Two brown rabbit strips, cut short
• Body: Brown crayfish or Ice Dub, ribbed with copper wire
• Legs: Brown mallard flank, palmered through the body and trimmed on top
• Tail flap: Brown Thin Skin, pulled over the back

How to fish it: Crayfish crawl and then bolt backward. Let it hit bottom, then hop it with short 3-inch strips and let it settle. Rocky flats and ledges for smallmouth, deep runs for big browns. If you’re not snagging once in a while, you’re not deep enough.