Category Archives: Michigan

April 6, 2015 · 7:00 am

Caplis – Tom Deschaine

caplis_A

I used to chat with Tom quite often through email about classic Michigan dry flies. We both had a great interest in them and it was nice to talk to someone who shared that interest. It has been almost a year since Tom passed away and with spring coming, I miss chatting with him about flies. So I wanted to post one of his dry flies that is a consistent producer, called Caplis. I plan to tie some up for summer and I hope you do too. I know Tom would be smiling.

Materials list:
Hook: Mustad #94840 or #94833 Size: 8-18
Thread: Black, 6/0
Tail: Red Hackle Fibers, tied short
Body: Peacock Herl
Wing: Bleached Elk Hair, tied down, caddis style
Head: Trim off wing butts, tie caddis style
Hackle: Furnace

Designed as a caddis attractor pattern with multiple uses. It can be fished on lakes, rivers or streams, fast water or still waters. It’s highly visible and a great floater. In larger sizes it can be used for bass and in smaller sizes it can be use for pan fish. It’s deadly for brooks, browns and rainbows.

Designed in 2007 the fly has become very popular having appeared in Fly Tyer Magazine and Fly Fish America and on multiple web sites. The fly was designed by Tom Deschaine, a retired school teacher from Westland, Michigan.

A step-by-step of this pattern is posted here: http://www.mustad.no/action/flyofthemonth/archive/caplis/caplis.html

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Filed under Michigan, Trout flies

November 3, 2014 · 7:00 am

Gary’s Gremlin – Gary McClain

Gary’s Gremlin

I have just returned from the Great Lakes Council Fly Tying Expo, as I’m sure you are aware from my previous posts. More to come on that later. However, while I was there a friend of mine and the nephew of a legendary fly tyer and fly fisherman from Grayling, Michigan, paid me a visit. Gary McClain is the nephew of Jerry McClain who created McClain’s Drake, a classic Michigan dry fly that I’ve posted about before on FrankenFly. These days Gary works for Cabela’s.

Gary brought me some gifts. One was a piece of sweater that Jerry used when he first made the McClain’s Drake. So cool! The other was a fly that Gary himself had created and was showing and telling about it for the first time. For the body of this fly, Gary used the same Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky Walnut yarn that we now use for the McClain’s Drake. Brilliant!
NOTE: Why do I say “brilliant,” you might ask. Well, the McClain’s Drake using this type of body is definitely known to catch fish. Gate’s Au Sable Lodge just ordered some from me to keep in stock. A guy that stopped at my table at the show said he tied some up from when I posted about it before, went to Montana and it caught fish all day long. Jerry Regan, a well known fly tyer from Grayling also uses the pattern with great success. So Gary using this body type following in his Uncle’s footsteps, knew what he was doing.

This is an all purpose fly. Gary starts the season with size 16’s… gradually increases size to 8’s by late August and has even been known to tie in some rubber legs when it’s time for hopper season. Gary cautions to use 3X or heavier tippet because if you use smaller than that it may twist your line. But Gary expresses this to be a real fish catcher!

Material List:

Hook: 3XL dry fly
Tail & Back Wing: medium brown calf tail
Body: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky Walnut yarn
Hackle: 5 or 6 turns of grizzly and Coachman brown rooster hackle

I want to thank Gary for letting me post this here on FrankenFly. This is one of these patterns that some fishermen will keep hush hush and not tell anyone about. If he wanted to keep it a secret, I would have absolutely honored that. But he was fine with me posting it. I plan to tie some up myself!

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Filed under Michigan, Trout flies

October 22, 2014 · 7:00 am

Flies added to FrankenFly Fly Shop

I’ve recently added several flies to the FrankenFly Fly Shop online. They are listed below and of course there will be more coming. If there is something you do not see and you need tied, just ask!

Adams Parachute

The Adams Female Parachute tied in Don Lieb style. This is an Adams fly that is more of an attractor pattern. This style is featured in the book, The Founding Flies by Mike Valla.

Awesome

The Awesome is mentioned in Josh Greenberg’s book, Rivers of Sand, as one of his favorite dry fly patterns. It’s a good buggy pattern that can be used at any time. This is a great pattern for smaller creeks too.

Cornie’s Quill

This fly was originated by Mr. Cornie Schrems of Grand Rapids, MI. Cornie never tied his own flies but rather had them tied by Art Neumann or Dan Bailey. Art Neumann named this fly. Cornie Schrems was present at the original meeting at George Griffith’s home, where Trout Unlimited was founded. This fly was most likely created in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s.
It is used still today out west as an excellent March Brown pattern. It makes a nice general pattern when you’re not sure what fly to choose.

Eggie Special

If you haven’t read about the Eggie Special that I posted about fairly recently, then go back and check it out. After I actually spoke to the Bugby’s they introduced me to the materials that actually make the Eggie Special. So I’m now offering it in the FrankenFly Fly Shop.

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Filed under FrankenFly, Michigan, Trout flies

August 27, 2014 · 7:00 am

Eggie Special – the real pattern

Eggie Bugby

Back in April I posted here on FrankenFly information I had found on the Eggie Special. The old Grayling, Michigan pattern information was taken from a fly tied by Bob Smock. I assumed Bob had tied the Eggie Special to the original recipe, but now I know that it was a little different. A few weeks ago, I had the very pleasant surprise of receiving a comment from Eggie Bugby’s grandson, Dale. He explained that his father, Robert, now 88 years old, had the correct material information about the Eggie Special pattern. I was thrilled! So I called Eggie’s son, Robert, soon after, to talk with him about his father, Eggie and the legendary Eggie Special fly pattern.

Robert explained that Bob Smock didn’t have the correct wing material because that is the closest type of hackle tips he had at the time to the original. The actual wing material used was a dark barred ginger variant. It looks like brown grizzly in color. There was something else that was different, but I didn’t know it at the time.

I asked Robert if he had any flies tied by his dad or if he had any that he tied that showed the fly in detail. He did, but sadly, they were eaten away by moths. I talked with Robert more about Eggie and other patterns he tied like the “Badger” and “Grasshopper.” Eggie used to sell his flies for 15 to 35 cents at the novelty store and from his home. He had a shop beside his house. He would fish the Au Sable River two to three times a week. Robert grew up fishing with his dad and learning to tie the patterns that caught tons of fish.

A few days later, I spoke with Dale again through email. He informed me they were sending me a package that included a photo of Eggie and not only that, but an actual fly they found that was tied by Eggie himself and it was intact! Yes, INTACT! I couldn’t believe it! I was like that kid on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when he found that golden ticket!

Below is the fly that Eggie tied. An actual Eggie Special. The photo was taken by me of the fly I received in the mail from the Bugby’s. The other difference I mentioned earlier, was that it had grizzly and brown hackle in the front around the wings and not just brown. I didn’t realize this until I studied the fly myself. So finally, after so many years, we finally know what the actual pattern is for the Eggie Special. I list the materials below the photo. I want to thank the Bugby family for being so generous and helpful.

I want to dedicate this post to my friend Tom Deschaine, who passed away May 31st, 2014. Tom ran the website MichiganDryFlies.net and would have been as excited as I am about this classic Michigan dry fly.

Eggie Special

Eggie Special material list:

Hook: Mustad #94840 Size: 10-12
Thread: Black, 6/0
Tail: Turkey Tail fibers, 3 to 4
Body: Pale Yellow Wool
Wing: Dark Barred Ginger hackle tips, upright and divided
Hackle: Rhode Island Red (Brown) Hackle, palmered the full length of the body. Brown and Grizzly hackle wrapped around wings near head of the fly.

-Paul J. Beel

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Filed under Classic, Michigan, Trout flies

July 28, 2014 · 7:00 am

Michigan trip – part 2

I was lucky to be able to spend a few hours on this trip with two great guides in northern Michigan. It was really what made the trip worth while. Keep in mind, this trip wasn’t a fishing trip, but a vacation with my family where I was able to steal a few hours here and there to go fishing.

First, I went on a morning float on the Jordan River with Brian Kozminski of True North Trout. My first thought was how much I liked the boat we were using. Koz has an Adipose from Montana. The low sides made for easy access to the water and the stability while moving all around the boat was excellent.

This time of year is a good time to throw ant style dry flies, like the Amy’s Ant and Chernobyl. The fish had a thing for the Amy’s Ant on this particular day. It made me a believer in the pattern, because I had never used it before.

While on a more open stretch of river, Koz had a rod loaded with the new Sharkwave line by Scientific Angler, so he let me try it out. I liked the way it casted. I thought it felt smooth running through the guides and I felt I could shoot line easier.

Another product that Koz had in the boat was Frogs Fanny floatant. This is a powder based floatant and water would just bead up on this stuff. It was awesome! Check this video out to see what I mean.

After the float, Koz showed me a stretch of wadeable water. It was a beautiful section and I caught a couple more brown trout before calling it a day.

Later in the week I met up with Alex Cerveniak of Northern Michigan Fly Fishing. I had my step-son with me this time and he is a novice fly fisherman, so I was just hoping Alex could put us on some fish, any fish. He did just that. To our delight, when we arrived at the river, fish were rising. Alex was great with my step-son. Since it was a narrow river, we needed to do a lot of roll casting, so Alex showed him how and he was catching fish soon after.

One of the exciting things for me was the chance to catch my first brook trout. I’ve caught many brown and rainbow trout, but have never caught a brookie. I was surprised to learn the main species in the stream Alex chose was none other than brook trout! I was anxious and a little shakey because I wanted to land one so badly. I missed several rises and bites because of this. (either that or I just suck, LOL) It wasn’t until I switched to one of Alex’s flies called the Otsego Ant that I finally caught my first brookie and it felt amazing. We fished into the darkness, taking turns and catching several more brookies.

Alex showed me a casting technique that I had never seen before. It is called the bow and arrow cast. It can be used in very tight quarters which makes it handy to learn. Plus, it’s just plain cool! Check out this video to see how it’s done.

I had a blast with both guides and would fish with either one again any day. Next time, I want to spend much more time fishing, so I plan to make it an official fishing trip!

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Filed under Michigan, Trout flies

April 14, 2014 · 8:00 am

Eggie Special

UPDATE: Go here for update on this post: http://www.frankenfly.com/eggie-special-the-real-pattern/

The Eggie Special is a classic Michigan dry fly that was designed by a Grayling, Michigan fly fishing legend, Eggie Bugby. This fly is known throughout the area, but intricate details have been difficult to solidify. Tom Deschaine of MichiganDryFlies.net has been working to try and figure out information about the fly for years. Just the other day, I noticed that fly fisherman and former guide, Robert Woodland, posted a photo of the Eggie Special tied by the late Bob Smock, a legendary fly tyer from Grayling. I asked Robert if he could describe the materials of the fly, which he did. The wings are the only thing we are not sure about. Bob Smock may have used hackle tips from his brother’s chickens and Eggie’s version was created somewhere between the 30’s and 50’s, so Tom had this to say about that.

Plymouth Rock (Grizzly), the Rhode Island Red (brown) and the Leghorn (white). That’s all they had … that is why most of our patterns are tied with Grizzly and Brown. These were the only chickens they had because they are the best layers and eating chickens. They raised them in their back yard for food and eggs … the hackle was just extra.

Robert stated Eggie was more concerned about tying to catch fish, not fisherman. With all of that said, the pattern is primarily intact.

I think it’s important to try and save information about these old patterns so they are not lost forever. Sometimes it is very difficult to gather information on certain old patterns because the details have been lost somewhere along the way.

Tom has officially posted the Eggie Special on MichiganDryFlies.net and you can find it in his list of fly patterns.

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Filed under Classic, Michigan

January 5, 2014 · 12:58 pm

Mark Lord – part 3

Here is the final part of Mark Lord’s patterns. I know it has been three posts in a row, but they are quality flies and worth showing and too long for just one post. Mark is a nice guy and an awesome fly tyer. I wanted to mention the Queen of the Waters fly at the bottom, because it is the first fly Mark ever tied. I hope you guys enjoyed seeing his work. I know I feel lucky to have some of his flies in my possession.

Hex Paradrake

Tail: 2 striped grizzly hackle stems
Body: deer hair
Thread: 6/0 yellow
Wings: white calf tail
Hackle: cree or brown & grizzly or even badger
Hackle Post: white poly yarn – clip it short after completion
Hook: Orvis 8808 #6

Simple Hex Spinner

Tail: 2 striped grizzly hackle stems
Body: deer hair
Thread: 6/0 yellow
Wings: white poly yarn
Underbody: yellow yarn
Hackle: cree or brown & grizzly or even badger
Hook: Orvis 8808 #6

Queen of the Waters

Body: cheap acetate floss orange
Rib: gold wire
Hackle: ginger rooster
Wing: teal or well marked mallard flank
Thread: 6/0 black
The floss when wet turns to a claret color due to the black thread. The hackle is tied in at the eye and palmered back then wrap the gold wire towards the eye to secure it.
Fish it in fast water on the swing and hang on!

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Filed under Michigan, Trout flies

January 4, 2014 · 6:00 am

Mark Lord – part 2

Here are three more patterns from Michigan fly tyer Mark Lord.

Streamside Mahogany

Tail: yearling elk
Body: deer hair dyed wine color
Thread: 6/0 gray
Wing Post: dun calf body hair
Hackle: grizzly
Hook: Orvis 1523 size 12 standard dry fly

Yellow Skunk

Note: Mark wanted me to mention that he was not the designer of this particular fly. A guide came in to Streamside Orvis when Mark worked there and asked if he could enhance a normal yellow skunk. So Mark along with the owner of the shop put their heads together and added materials to make this version.
Tail: red calftail clipped
Body: yellow tinsel chenille (WAPSI)
Thread: 6/0 yellow
Underwing: gold krystal flash
Wing: deer hair
Legs: medium white rubber
Hook: Orvis 1638 2XL dry 10/12

Gray Drake

A spin on Roberts Yellow Drake
Hook: standard dry fly
Thread: 6/0 black
Tail: Pheasant Tail Fibers, 3-4.
Wing: White Deer Belly Hair, tied
post.
Body: Light Tan Deer Hair, tied
parallel to the hook shank and
flared at the tail. Body should
be tied slender.
Rib: Crisscrossed thread.
Hackle: Ginger or grizzly