We might as well concede the notion that fly-fishing in this country began on the east coast. The pioneers were heavily influenced by British writers describing and prescribing style, technique and fly pattern development. American publishers of the time were predominately east coast enterprises, and it remains so today. American anglers wrote about eastern patterns.
Today, we see a leap-frog affect on the literature. The eastern dandies still write about eastern flies and fishing but have added the Rocky Mountain and Pacific waters.There are lots of fish out there and they are (relatively) easier to catch. And, the mountains are pretty and one can pretend to be a cowboy. There is precious little about our fishing in the national media, even less about our heritage and contributions to the sport. When is the last time you saw a photo of a Michigan stream (or any Great Lakes basin river) in the TU Calendar?
Enough of that. Michigan anglers and tiers have made significant contributions to the sport in every imaginable category. Perhaps the main reason our great fly tiers have been ignored is that they didn’t give a damn (and still do not) about what was going on in England.
The following list of ten Michigan trout flies are as productive worldwide as any list of ten from any region
of the country. Some are old, some are relatively new. Take a little regional pride, fish and enjoy them.
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Adams
This is the most famous dry fly to come from Michigan. It is recognized as a must have pattern throughout the world. The Adams fishes well as a general attractor and as a representative during many hatces. It is buggy and trout love it.
The original pattern had golden pheasant tippets for the tail; this has changed to a variety of tailing material in today’s fly boxes. I think it is the grizzly hackle-tip wings and the mixed brown and grizzly hackle that create the fly’s seductive power.
This great pattern was developed by Len Halliday on the Boardman River and was named after Judge Charlie Adams in 1922.
Roberts Drake
Flexible to the extreme, the Roberts Drake effectively covers a variety of hatches; all one has to do is vary the size of the fly to cover Light Hendricksons, sulphurs, Cahills, Hex, and more. A parachute tie, it is easy to see with its white post.
It was developed by Clarence Roberts, a conservation officer in Grayling, and remains one of the most popular fly patterns in Michigan.
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Borchers Drake
While Roberts Drake covers most of the cream colored may flies, Borchers Drake fills the bill for the darker bugs. Ernie Borchers of Grayling came up with this beauty. Originally the fly was tied as a traditional style dry. Today we see a majority tied in parachute style with a white post. Ernie’s original recipe called for purple hackle-tip wings and a body made of condor quill from the condor’s tail feather. This can get a tier in a heap of trouble today so the body is now (usually) turkey quill.
The Borchers’ fly catches trout when Hendricksons, black quills, mahoganies, and Isonychias are on the water. I carry the pattern in sizes 10 to 18.
Rusty’s Spinner
A contemporary pattern, Rusty Gates of Gates Au Sable Lodge in Grayling developed this fly to serve multi-function duty during a wide range of spinner falls. It is extremely effective for Hendricksons, mahoganies, Isonychia, and olives. Just carry a variety of sizes.
Rusty told me that the fly has continued to evolve. The original tie featured grizzly hackle-tip wings and a dark, reddish-brown body (I still fish this version). Today, a more popular version is tied parachute style with a white post and dark dun hackle. He calls it the “white not”, because it is white and not a spinner in the classic sense.
Regan’s Hex
Jerry Regan is, in many ways, the keeper of the faith of Michigan fly fishing. Jerry is a commercial tier and guide who has religiously researched and recorded the history of Michigan patterns and their creators. You have a question? Jerry probably has the answer. His commercial ties hold true to the original patterns; they are lovely, durable, and seductive. My favorites are his brown drake and Hex patterns. Regan’s Hex is a blend of tradition and contemporary realism. It is a deer-bodied, spent-wing parachute with a clipped deer-hair post. You will be hard pressed to find a better fly when the fish get picky.
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Michigan Skunk (a.k.a. Au Sable Skunk)
This is a transition fly. It is available in both wet and dry versions. You can fish it as a skittering or drifting stonefly adult, as an emerging stonefly nymph, as a general attractor wet, or as a streamer. It looks a little bit like several edible critters but not a lot like anything. The Michigan Skunk is probably the first (certainly one of the first) rubber-legged patterns. Derivatives that enjoy more fame today include Madame X, Tarantula, Yuk Bug, Girdle Bug, and more. Earl Madsen is credited with the creation of the Michigan Skunk.
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Houghton Lake Special
The origin of this big fly remains unclear, at least unverified, but its effectiveness is crystal. This is a big double-duty streamer usually tied on a size two, long shank hook. It is bushy and moves water, the latter being key to its dark of night success with big trout.
The classic Houghton Lake Special has a tail of red wool yarn, a fat black chenille body ribbed with wide silver tinsel, a two layer wing of white bucktail under brown bucktail, and a collar of thick, stiff brown hackle. It is often fished dead drift as a giant stonefly, then stripped back as a streamer.
Madonna
Ray Schmidt, owner of Schmidt Outfitters in Wellston,created this fine streamer just a few short years ago. It serves well as both a general attractor and as a good imitation of both crayfish and sculpins.
Madonnas come in a wide range of colors, in both standard (clipped deerhair) and cone-head versions, and in single and double-winged styles. It is simplicity itself and easy to tie. The body is tinsel, the wing(s) is rabbit strip and the head is deer hair. It has a lively, seductive action in the water and is highly visible and easy to fish.
Zoo Cougar
No longer a local secret, the Zoo Cougar is now found in most fly shops around the country. Kelly Galloup developed this streamer when he owned the Troutsman in Traverse City. He wanted a sculpin pattern that would dart and flutter, and appear sick and disabled on the retrieve. It does that and more. The fly’s sculpted deer-hair head and mallard flank over-wing cause the Cougar to move erratically during a jerk-strip retrieve. Trophy trout from the Delaware to the Madisonlove it.
The Cougar is most commonly tied in yellow but an olive version is my current favorite. I used olive, yellow, and brown variations near Kelly’s Slide Inn on the Madison last fall with excellent results.