Hey Guys,
I would like to share with you some of my favorite flies. I have spent most of my time chasing trout in an around Grayling Michigan fishing the Au Sable and the Manistee.
Most of us are familiar with Michigan's most famous dry fly, the Adams but many other patterns invented here are virtually unknown. The first I would like to describe is the Borcher's Special. I call this the guide's Adams. If you book a guide in the spring in this area you will more than likely fish a Borcher's for part of the day. Most shops around grayling sell more Borcher's Specials than any other fly. So here it is
This is the traditionally hackled version described by Ernie Borcher. Most of the flies fished today are now a parachute version. Here's the recipe
Hook - 94840 size 12-20
Tail - 3 moose body hairs, or a few pheasant tail fibers
Body - Turkey tail fibers twisted and wrapped (Ernie Borcher used turkey for his production flies and condor for his personal flies)
Wings - A secret recipe purple/maroon dyed hackle tips. Jerry Regan is the current keeper of the formula and will not give it to me. He did sell me some chinese necks that he dyed and I have replicated the color pretty close.
Hackle - Brown and Grizzly
Thread - Black
Next we have a couple of flies designed by Earl Madsen. It's easy to spot an Earl Madsen pattern because he liked to use a lot of yarn bodies with floss ribbing. Madsen patterns also used a lot of deer hair wings with the butts of the hair becoming a post for hackling. The first is Madsen's Barber Pole Drake. This fly is hard to find these days and the only commercial tier making it is Jerry Regan. This is a good attractor type fly especially during late spring when we have a lot of bigger drakes on the water.
Here's the recipe
Hook - 94831 size 8-12
Tail - Grey Squirrel tied bulky
Body - Yellow poly yarn ribbed with maroon embroidery floss.
Wing post - deer belly hair
Hackle - Brown and Grizzly 1 hook size too big
Thread - yellow monochord
Next is a similar looking fly tied to resemble more of a stonefly. Also an Earl Madsen pattern this is known as the Game Warden. This is one of the tougher flies to tie out of this bunch and I always have trouble with the wings.
Hook 94831 size 10
Body - Yellow poly yarn ribbed with maroon embroidery floss.
Underwing - Deer hair from a 5 year old does neck. Tie the deer hair downwing style with the butts becoming a wing post
Overwing - Grizzly hen neck feathers died down wing
Hackle - Brown and Grizzly
Thread - Yellow monochord
One of my favorite flies is called the McLain's Drake. This is an easy fly to tie and my favorite for fishing a hatch of larger bugs if they are dark. Jerry McLain lives down town Grayling but no longer ties flies. I think he is at least 90 years old.
Hook 94831 size 10-12
Tails - Pheasant tail fibers
Body - unraveled yarn from a WWII army sweater. I am not sure if these were US army sweaters or not. Jerry had a ton of them that he bought at a surplus store and I got a big wad of the stuff from him. The yarn has lots of different colored fibers, olive, burnt brown, maroon etc.
Wing post - 3-4 colored feather tips. Purple, orange, green are common. Most tiers up there use the waste tips from their "Bob Smock Orange" capes or Borcher's purple capes.
Hackle - Brown and Grizzly
Last but not least is my personal all time favorite fly. This is the famous (at least here) Bob Smock Sulphur. Just like Cameron, Bob was my fly tying inspiration. Bob had a shop in his garage in the middle of Grayling. Bob Smock was the last of the real old timers still tying flies in Grayling. Unfortunately Bob passed about 2 years ago but he was still tying 4 dozen flies a day even in his last few weeks.
Hanging out at Bob's shop before fishing was a ritual for me for years. He could tell stories all day. Bob actually fished with Clarence Roberts (Roberts Yellow Drake), Earl Madsen, Ernie Borcher, and fished with and worked for Fred Bear. The most distinctive component of this fly is the dirty orange hackle. Bob was very generous with his knowledge and was happy to give me the recipe. He said "just dump 2 packs of Rit Tangerine in a pot of hot water, add a cup of Vinegar and throw in 3-4 necks and leave 'em for 15 minutes."
Hook - 94840 size 14-18
Tails - A few fibers from your orange neck
Body - Fly Rite poly dubbing, yellow.
Wing - deer belly hair
Hackle - White neck dyed "Bob Smock Orange"
Thread - Yellow Danville 6/0
A few more notes about tying traditional Grayling Michigan patterns.
1. When tying deer hair wing posts, never use a hair stacker. The wing should not look like a leveled off post. It should look like a small fan from the side, and have a very slim profile when viewing from the front. The wing post should cast a shadow of a mayfly wing profile.
2. These are guide flies. Most of these have only a few ingredients, are simple to tie, durable, and cheap. They should look a little rough.
If you ever make it to this area, these traditional flies are still sold and fished by many. The best tier these days is Jerry Regan who is a true full time commercial tier, tying 10-12 dozen per day. Flies tied by Jerry are worth seeking out.
I would like to share with you some of my favorite flies. I have spent most of my time chasing trout in an around Grayling Michigan fishing the Au Sable and the Manistee.
Most of us are familiar with Michigan's most famous dry fly, the Adams but many other patterns invented here are virtually unknown. The first I would like to describe is the Borcher's Special. I call this the guide's Adams. If you book a guide in the spring in this area you will more than likely fish a Borcher's for part of the day. Most shops around grayling sell more Borcher's Specials than any other fly. So here it is
This is the traditionally hackled version described by Ernie Borcher. Most of the flies fished today are now a parachute version. Here's the recipe
Hook - 94840 size 12-20
Tail - 3 moose body hairs, or a few pheasant tail fibers
Body - Turkey tail fibers twisted and wrapped (Ernie Borcher used turkey for his production flies and condor for his personal flies)
Wings - A secret recipe purple/maroon dyed hackle tips. Jerry Regan is the current keeper of the formula and will not give it to me. He did sell me some chinese necks that he dyed and I have replicated the color pretty close.
Hackle - Brown and Grizzly
Thread - Black
Next we have a couple of flies designed by Earl Madsen. It's easy to spot an Earl Madsen pattern because he liked to use a lot of yarn bodies with floss ribbing. Madsen patterns also used a lot of deer hair wings with the butts of the hair becoming a post for hackling. The first is Madsen's Barber Pole Drake. This fly is hard to find these days and the only commercial tier making it is Jerry Regan. This is a good attractor type fly especially during late spring when we have a lot of bigger drakes on the water.
Here's the recipe
Hook - 94831 size 8-12
Tail - Grey Squirrel tied bulky
Body - Yellow poly yarn ribbed with maroon embroidery floss.
Wing post - deer belly hair
Hackle - Brown and Grizzly 1 hook size too big
Thread - yellow monochord
Next is a similar looking fly tied to resemble more of a stonefly. Also an Earl Madsen pattern this is known as the Game Warden. This is one of the tougher flies to tie out of this bunch and I always have trouble with the wings.
Hook 94831 size 10
Body - Yellow poly yarn ribbed with maroon embroidery floss.
Underwing - Deer hair from a 5 year old does neck. Tie the deer hair downwing style with the butts becoming a wing post
Overwing - Grizzly hen neck feathers died down wing
Hackle - Brown and Grizzly
Thread - Yellow monochord
One of my favorite flies is called the McLain's Drake. This is an easy fly to tie and my favorite for fishing a hatch of larger bugs if they are dark. Jerry McLain lives down town Grayling but no longer ties flies. I think he is at least 90 years old.
Hook 94831 size 10-12
Tails - Pheasant tail fibers
Body - unraveled yarn from a WWII army sweater. I am not sure if these were US army sweaters or not. Jerry had a ton of them that he bought at a surplus store and I got a big wad of the stuff from him. The yarn has lots of different colored fibers, olive, burnt brown, maroon etc.
Wing post - 3-4 colored feather tips. Purple, orange, green are common. Most tiers up there use the waste tips from their "Bob Smock Orange" capes or Borcher's purple capes.
Hackle - Brown and Grizzly
Last but not least is my personal all time favorite fly. This is the famous (at least here) Bob Smock Sulphur. Just like Cameron, Bob was my fly tying inspiration. Bob had a shop in his garage in the middle of Grayling. Bob Smock was the last of the real old timers still tying flies in Grayling. Unfortunately Bob passed about 2 years ago but he was still tying 4 dozen flies a day even in his last few weeks.
Hanging out at Bob's shop before fishing was a ritual for me for years. He could tell stories all day. Bob actually fished with Clarence Roberts (Roberts Yellow Drake), Earl Madsen, Ernie Borcher, and fished with and worked for Fred Bear. The most distinctive component of this fly is the dirty orange hackle. Bob was very generous with his knowledge and was happy to give me the recipe. He said "just dump 2 packs of Rit Tangerine in a pot of hot water, add a cup of Vinegar and throw in 3-4 necks and leave 'em for 15 minutes."
Hook - 94840 size 14-18
Tails - A few fibers from your orange neck
Body - Fly Rite poly dubbing, yellow.
Wing - deer belly hair
Hackle - White neck dyed "Bob Smock Orange"
Thread - Yellow Danville 6/0
A few more notes about tying traditional Grayling Michigan patterns.
1. When tying deer hair wing posts, never use a hair stacker. The wing should not look like a leveled off post. It should look like a small fan from the side, and have a very slim profile when viewing from the front. The wing post should cast a shadow of a mayfly wing profile.
2. These are guide flies. Most of these have only a few ingredients, are simple to tie, durable, and cheap. They should look a little rough.
If you ever make it to this area, these traditional flies are still sold and fished by many. The best tier these days is Jerry Regan who is a true full time commercial tier, tying 10-12 dozen per day. Flies tied by Jerry are worth seeking out.
Carp are big game
www.huronflyfishing.com
www.huronflyfishing.com
Thanks again.
