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Origin

• Country: England (Yorkshire & the North Country tradition)
• Century: 1800s
• Attribution: Associated with William Brumfitt and other Yorkshire anglers; adapted from the March Brown to a spider/soft‑hackle for subsurface work.

Imitates: March Brown (Rhithrogena germanica) nymphs/emerger and drowned duns.

Materials (Traditional)

• Hook: Size 12–16 wet fly hook
• Thread: Primrose or brown silk (modern 8/0 brown) — threads
• Body: Natural hare’s ear dubbing (or yellow silk body)
• Rib: Fine gold wire
• Hackle: partridge (brown back or grey breast feathers)

Tactics & When to Fish

• When: Best March–May; also effective through spring olive activity. Midday in cool, broken water is ideal.
• How: Fish in a team of two or three spiders, cast across‑and‑down, allowing a natural swing; add a gentle lift at the end of the drift to imitate emergence.
• Sizes: 12–16 cover most UK & Ireland rivers.

Step‑by‑Step: March Brown Spider

1. Step 1 — Start the thread

   

   Tie on the thread, starting about 2 mm from the eye, and stop between the barb and the point.

2. Step 2 — Tie in the wire

   

   Catch in fine gold wire at the rear of the shank on the near side and bind forward.

3. Step 3 — Dub a slim body

   
   

   Using your hare’s ear dubbing (often from a hare’s mask or individual packets), apply very small pinches. With dubbing, less is more — you can always add; removing excess is troublesome.

4. Step 4 — Counter‑rib with wire

   

   Counter‑wrap the wire in the opposite direction of your dubbed body; it creates a stronger, longer‑lasting rib. Tie off and helicopter away.

5. Step 5 — Prepare & tie in hackle (tip first)

   Prepare the partridge hackle carefully to get proportions right; tie in tip side first.

6. Step 6 — Wrap hackle & finish

Notes & Modern Variations

• Swap the body for yellow silk for an ultra sparse historical dressing.
• Add a tiny thorax hot‑spot (e.g. orange dubbing) for a modern searching twist.
• Tie a tungsten‑beaded version to reach deeper seams in early spring.
• Keep hackle sparse: 1 to 2 turns give maximum movement.