modern Michigan dry fly · 1980s
Catau's Michigan Hopper
Unverified origin Only Deschaine's column credits Catau with this fly and date; Catau's book is real but has not been checked for the pattern.
History
Dan Catau tied flies professionally in Michigan through the 1970s, 80s and 90s, counted the actor William Conrad and the golfer Jack Nicklaus among his customers, and wrote In the Thrill of the Night, a 1999 book on Hex fishing. Tom Deschaine dates this hopper to the 1980s.
It is a plain, fast tie: a red tail, a yarn body in the color of the local hoppers, a palmered brown hackle and a deer-hair down-wing with its butts clipped into a head. Deschaine recommended it to beginners. It is a different fly from Art Winnie's Michigan Hopper.
Materials
| Hook | Mustad R74-9672 (4XL), sizes 6 to 12 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Black or yellow 6/0 |
| Tail | Red: duck quill section, calftail, bucktail or floss |
| Body | Yarn, yellow, green or brown |
| Rib | Brown hackle, palmered |
| Wing | Stacked deer hair, tied trude style, no longer than the tail |
| Head | Wing butts trimmed caddis style |
Sources
- Deschaine, T. "Catau's Michigan Hopper." Fly of the Week, Fly Anglers Online, reposted May 31, 2014.
- Catau, D. In the Thrill of the Night. 1999.
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.