The Roberts Yellow Drake is a very popular Michigan dry fly. Even though it is a classic dry fly, that was designed by Clarence Roberts many years ago, it is still a popular fly to this day, because it mimics many different insects.
Clarence was Ray Schmidt’s Uncle. So who better to show us how to tie the Roberts Yellow Drake.
Also, I wrote a post about Clarence many years ago. Here is the link to that post.
Materials list:
Hook: 94840 dry fly hook
Thread: Yellow 8/0
Tail: Rooster pheasant tail fibers
Body: Tan deer body hair
Parachute: Deer Belly Hair
Hackle: Ginger
One of the best ties of Clarence’s best fly that Ive seen. I’ve personally tied 10s of thousands of these and can attest that, in this case, putting the post on after the body is far and away the easiest. Clarence also made finishing the fly easier by cutting the post to length before attaching it. He also, as he said “ cut it on a bias” the angled cut eliminating much of the tie down hair. Thanks for posting an all time great trout fly.
Thanks Tim,
-Paul
Yw. I lived a block down the street from Clarence as a kid. He had a lot of chickens…
Haha, that’s interesting.
-Paul
Paul, thanks for posting this, I was unaware of Ray’s videos which are very informative as to tying technique and history of Michigan trout flies. I’m also a big fan of Tim Neal’s work!
Good deal Vern, glad to hear that!
Thanks,
Paul