classic Michigan dry fly · c. 1922
Adams
Solid origin Tyer, place, and date agree across sources. The naming story is told two ways.
History
Len Halladay tied the first Adams around 1922 for Charles F. Adams, an Ohio attorney who fished it on the Boardman River.
Accounts differ on how it got its name. One says Adams asked Halladay for a fly. The other, which Halladay's own words in Smedley support, says Halladay named it for Adams because Adams had the first good day on it. An original Halladay-tied Adams is on display at the Kingsley Branch Library.
Materials
| Hook | Standard dry, sizes 10 to 22 |
|---|---|
| Tail | Mixed grizzly and brown hackle fibers |
| Body | Muskrat or Adams-gray dubbing |
| Wings | Grizzly hackle tips, upright and divided |
| Hackle | Brown and grizzly dry hackle, mixed |
| Thread | Black 6/0 to 8/0 |
Sources
- Barritt, A. "Famous Fly for Fishing calls Mayfield Home." Grand Traverse Journal, 2015.
- Birkholm, D. "Just Old Flies: Adams." Fly Anglers Online.
- Smedley, H. H. Fly Patterns and Their Origins. Westshore Publications, 1943.
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No photo yet. Every photo on michfly is of a fly tied for the site, so they're added a few at a time.
Original recipe cards for many Michigan patterns are kept at the Michigan Dry Flies archive, built by the late Tom Deschaine.