Green Mallard Flank Feathers

Green Mallard Flank Feathers

When the Green Drakes come off, grown men forget their own phone numbers. Big, slow, dumb bugs, and the biggest trout in the river come up for them. Dyed green mallard flank has been the go-to drake wing for generations because it’s the right color and the right speckle. It’s also the color of the caddis larva on the bottom the other eleven months of the year.

What you get: About 60 feathers in a 2 gram bag, mixed sizes, plenty of big ones for drake wings. Hand-sorted, junk removed.

Recipe 1: Western Green Drake

• Hook: 2x long dry fly hook, #10–#12
• Thread: Olive 6/0
• Tail: Moose body hair, short
• Body: Olive dubbing, ribbed with yellow floss
• Wing: Green mallard flank, tied upright as a single clump
• Hackle: Grizzly dyed olive, 4–5 turns, thick

How to fish it: Drakes hatch mid-morning to early afternoon on gray, drizzly days in June and July. Fish it in the slower water along banks and below riffles. Big drakes struggle on the surface, so a tiny twitch helps. Use 4x. You’re going to need it.

Recipe 2: Green Rock Worm Caddis

• Hook: Scud hook, #12–#16
• Bead: Black tungsten
• Thread: Black 8/0
• Abdomen: Green Ultra Wire or green Antron, segmented
• Legs: Green mallard flank fibers, short, under the thorax
• Thorax: Black or dark brown dubbing, picked out

How to fish it: Free-living caddis larvae get swept off rocks all day, every day. Fish it deep and dead drift on a tight line or under an indicator in fast riffles. This is a year-round fly. When nothing is hatching, this is what’s on the menu.