Western March Brown (Rhithrogena morrisoni)
This is often the first large mayfly hatch of the season on rivers around Bozeman, Montana. The western march brown typically hatch in mid-late March during the warmest part of the day between 1-2pm and lasts for a couple hours. Leading up to the hatch, trout will key in on nymphs and emergers.
Anglers fly fishing with our Bozeman fly fishing guides experience in April can expect an hour or two of dry fly fishing during March Brown hatches. Early season guide trips are a great way to improve your nymphing and dry fly fishing skills as trout also actively feed before and after the emergences.
Trout will sit in broken water making rises difficult to spot but keep an eye there to find feeding lanes such as a bubble or foam line. Larger trout won’t often hold in one spot but will come in from the soft edges to hunt and circle back moving often to hunt these bugs down.
Unlike other mayfly hatches, keep a parachute and a cripple to match this hatch since this is not as much of a blanket hatch as others. As with most other mayflies, cloudy weather is the best time to encounter these hatches on the legendary Montana fly fishing rivers.
3 Top Montana Fly Fishing Rivers for March Brown Hatches
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