>>>What Are You Tying Today? Part V

[WWKimba]

Michigan Spinner - This Michigan pattern pre-dates 1950 and the originators name has unfortunately been lost to history but was a favorite pattern in fly shops in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Another pattern designed for the Michigan Hex hatch.

Hook - standard dry, 2-10
Thread - white
Tail - 2 PT fibers, tied long
Wing - white bucktail, tied upright and divided
Rib - light brown cotton thread
Body - cream red fox dubbing mixed with yellow wool dubbing
Hackle - grizzly and ginger, mixed

NOTE: The original rib may have used tying silk and light brown floss may also be substituted. Also, the tying thread can be black.

 

[WWKimba]

Michigan Stone - Another pattern where the originator's name is lost to history, but this pattern was quite popular in the 1970's and 80's and was probably originated in the early 70's. It is a generalized stone pattern designed so that a change in the body color can be done to match the naturals where you are fishing.

Hook - Mustad 94840, 8-10
Thread - tan
Tail - dark elk hair, tied short
Rib - ginger hackle, palmered and trimmed short on top and bottom
Body - tan fur or synthetic dubbing
Wing - natural brown bucktail, tied down over the body and to the end of the tail

 

[JerryC]

Finishing up my flies for my Canadian trip. Some Zonkers
Perch are one main prey fish

Along with juvenile smallmouth and rock bass

and minnows

 

[JerryC]

Most of my bass flies are foam concoctions that I think up. Decided to take a box of "traditional" poppers and sliders for the upcoming Canadian trip. Some are new ties, others I replaced the eyes and legs, and touched up the colors.
Small Crease flies

Poppers

Sneaky Pete style sliders

 

[WWKimba]

Nelem's Caddis - This pattern was developed by a Mr. Nelem from the Detroit area and around the 1940's. The investigation on this pattern by Michigan fly historian Tom Deschaine was limited to this information. And, like many other older patterns this is NOT a caddis pattern, as named, but a Hex mayfly pattern.

Hook - Mustad 79580, 4-8
Thread - brown
Tail - moose mane
Rib - crisscrossed thread wraps
Body - natural deer hair, tied parallel to the shank and extended beyond the hook shank
Wings - dark ginger hackle tips, tied semi-spent (they may be tied up, divided, or totally spent as well)
Hackle - dark ginger, tied heavy

 

[WWKimba]

No Hackle - This concept for a pattern first came from Doug Swisher and Carl Richards in 1965-66 from fishing the Au Sable River in Grayling, MI. It was included in their book Selective Trout and was previously called the "Henwing" and "Hair Wing No Hackle". This style of tying enjoyed a brief period of favor but fell out as it was found that the fly did not float as well as preferred. A few years later this style of tying was reinvented and is now known as a comparadun.

Hook - Mustad 94833 or 94840, 6-14
Thread - to match body
Tail - 4 deer hair fibers, tied split both horizontally and vertically
Body - natural or synthetic dubbing to match natural
Wing - deer hair, stacked spun, and clipped (hen hackle fibers may also be used)

 

[Flylife]

I fish Black, white, and yellow poppers. Yellow has been my go-to color this year. Last year it was white. Pretty small. Size 6 Gamakatsu stinger hooks. Small enough for the brim and big enough for the smallies.View attachment 1641226471

I fish Black, white, and yellow poppers. Yellow has been my go-to color this year. Last year it was white. Pretty small. Size 6 Gamakatsu stinger hooks. Small enough for the brim and big enough for the smallies.View attachment 1641226471

Barrybarry,
Really nice Poppers, awesome colors !

 

[WWKimba]

North Branch Drake - Hank Vesey from Flint, MI designed this fly in the late 1950's to early 60's. There are several other patterns with this name on the books. Hank used to teach fly tying classes at Mott Community College.

Hook - Mustad 94840, 14-18
Thread - black
Rib - tying thread tied crisscrossed along body
Body/Tail - natural deer hair, tied parallel to shank and extended and tied tight and flared for the tail
Wing - natural deer hair, tied trude
Hackle - grizzly

 

[WWKimba]

Parachute Bicolor Walker - Ralph Hanna created this design as a parachute version of his Bicolor Walker pattern created a couple years prior. Created in the 1950's Ralph originally called this pattern the Parachute Brown Drake and like his original Bicolor Walker, he preferred to fish this pattern just after dark for the Brown Drake hatch.

Hook - Mustad 94831, 10-14
Thread - black
Tail - 2 PT fibers, tied up and split into a "V"
Body - reddish brown yarn, tied with a tuft or loop just beyond the bend of the hook
Wing - brownish grey deer hair, tied trude and extended beyond the hook bend
Post - white deer hair
Hackle - brown and grey, tied parachute

 

[Facemelted]

Finishing up my flies for my Canadian trip. Some Zonkers
Perch are one main prey fish
View attachment 1641226658
Along with juvenile smallmouth and rock bass
View attachment 1641226659
and minnows
View attachment 1641226660

Super sexy! I bet these catch a few...

 

[Facemelted]

Parachute Bicolor Walker - Ralph Hanna created this design as a parachute version of his Bicolor Walker pattern created a couple years prior. Created in the 1950's Ralph originally called this pattern the Parachute Brown Drake and like his original Bicolor Walker, he preferred to fish this pattern just after dark for the Brown Drake hatch.

Hook - Mustad 94831, 10-14
Thread - black
Tail - 2 PT fibers, tied up and split into a "V"
Body - reddish brown yarn, tied with a tuft or loop just beyond the bend of the hook
Wing - brownish grey deer hair, tied trude and extended beyond the hook bend
Post - white deer hair
Hackle - brown and grey, tied parachute

Are these flies from a collection?

 

[WWKimba]

Are these flies from a collection?

Nope! Just my meager attempts in honoring Michigan fly tyer AND fly historian Tom Deschaine's work before he died. Tom was a retired high school biology teacher. His efforts helped preserve and even restore the legacy and stories behind these flies. His site is still online and can be found at -

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www.michigandryflies.net

. You can also see the right way to tie these patterns! 😉

I thank you for your interest

Kim

 

[salmo]

I have bee tying a simple small stimulator pattern for use as a terrestrial or stone fly imitation either
individually or as dry-dropper rig.

.

 

[WWKimba]

Pest - Developed by Grand Rapids, MI tyer Dennis Potter as a warm water searching pattern. The silhouette is indicative of a beetle, blowfly, or deerfly. A nice bluegill pattern.

Hook - TMC 100, 14-16
Thread - black
Body - peacock herl
Shellback - yellow closed cell foam, cut to shape
Wings - holographic tinsel, divided and swept back
Hackle - yellow

 

[WWKimba]

Potter's Opal and Elk Caddis - Designed by Dennis Potter in 2003 after he first designed the Pearl and Elk Caddis around 2000. Tied in different sizes, this pattern can be used for all caddis hatches.

Hook - TMC 100, 12-18
Thread - UTC 50 Denier, GSP white, olive, or yellow NOTE: GSP is needed to get the proper flared head
Rib - fine gold wire
Body - medium opal flat tinsel
Hackle - undersized dun or grizzly hackle. palmered on body
Wing - cow elk hair

 

[WWKimba]

Professor - Tom Deschaine said his best guess from his research showed that this pattern was developed around 1915 in Michigan and was inspired by the wet fly by the same name first tied in 1830 by Scottish author Professor John Wilson. His wet fly pattern is shown below for comparison. The wet and dry patterns are both nice attractor patterns.

Hook - Mustad 94840, 10-18
Thread - brown
Tail - scarlet red hackle fibers
Rib - flat gold tinsel
Body - yellow floss
Wing - mallard, tied upright and divided
Hackle - brown

The wet pattern developed in 1830 (I did not tie this fly).

 

[WWKimba]

Regan's Black Caddis - Designed by a third generation Michigan tyer by the name of Jerry Regan in 1990. He ties commercially and professionally and is known as an expert on old Michigan fly patterns. This was tied as a female caddis, to tie as a male leave off the green egg sac. This pattern is to be fished during the Chimarra hatch (April through August in MI).

Hook - Mustad 94840, 18 - some tyers will also tie this in a 16
Thread - black
Egg Sac (optional) - lime green yarn
Body - tying thread, tied full length of the shank
Post - dark deer hair (Jerry prefers the hair from the back of an October killed deer)
Hackle - brown and grizzly, tied parachute then the post cut short

 

[Steeltrap]

Pest - Developed by Grand Rapids, MI tyer Dennis Potter as a warm water searching pattern. The silhouette is indicative of a beetle, blowfly, or deerfly. A nice bluegill pattern.

Hook - TMC 100, 14-16
Thread - black
Body - peacock herl
Shellback - yellow closed cell foam, cut to shape
Wings - holographic tinsel, divided and swept back
Hackle - yellow

As I read the word "deerfly" and the pic was in my peripheral vision I actually "winced". Those deer fly's can bite like no other!!!

 

[Steeltrap]

Most of my bass flies are foam concoctions that I think up. Decided to take a box of "traditional" poppers and sliders for the upcoming Canadian trip. Some are new ties, others I replaced the eyes and legs, and touched up the colors.
Small Crease flies
View attachment 1641226665

Poppers
View attachment 1641226666

What are the bodies made of on these? I assume you fish these as if they were a minnow and not a popper on top?

 

[JerryC]

The crease flies are made with 2 mm craft foam. I often use sheets of the sticky back craft foam. On the two that look silver, it was a real thin flexible material not sure what it was. Just pressed and smoothed it against the sticky side, cut out the shapes. I use permanent markers for the coloring and coat them with UV resin. I'd have to look at the mouth of the crease flies. Some I tie with open mouths, others with closed mouths. I can use some as poppers, others minnow swimming on top. I also use them as subsurface flies with either an intermediate or sinking line off.
The second picture are what we call in fresh water "pencil poppers". They're pre-formed soft foam bodies. You don't see them as much these days in fly fishing catalogs, but you can find them in some catalogs or sites where fly fishing is not the main gear.
They have a concave mouth, so they're normally fished as poppers. Bodies are colored with permanent markers and coated with UV resin. They can also be fished on intermediate or sinking line.