modern Michigan dry fly · 1980s
Catau's Brown Drake
Unverified origin Deschaine documents Catau and his clients, but only the Michigan Dry Flies archive ties him to this fly and date.
History
Dan Catau tied flies professionally in Michigan from the 1970s into the 1990s and designed several patterns of his own. The Michigan Dry Flies archive dates this brown drake to the 1980s.
It has a lacquered pheasant-tail body and furnace wings and hackle, and it also works when slate drakes are on the water. Catau tied for some well-known customers, among them the actor William Conrad and the golfer Jack Nicklaus.
Materials
| Hook | Dry, sizes 10 to 12 |
|---|---|
| Tail | Pheasant tail fibers |
| Body | Pheasant tail fibers, lacquered |
| Wings | Furnace hackle tips |
| Hackle | Furnace |
Sources
- Deschaine, T. "Catau's Michigan Hopper." Fly Anglers Online, May 31, 2014.
- Deschaine, T. Michigan Dry Flies archive.
Know more about this fly's history, or spot a mistake? Send a correction.
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.