classic Michigan dry fly · date unknown
Corey's Calf Tail
Also called Corey Calftail
Likely origin Ray Schmidt names Ralph Corey of Big Rapids. Fly Anglers Online (1999) independently places the fly's roots in a Michigan night-fishing pattern but names no tyer. No date is recorded.
History
Ralph Corey of Big Rapids fished the Muskegon River obsessively, and this is the searching fly he came up with for it. Ray Schmidt includes it in his series on historical Great Lakes flies and notes that the Muskegon held plenty of rainbows, which go for a skated fly.
Its big white calf tail wings sit upright and lean forward. That keeps the fly riding high, lets it skate, and pops it back to the surface when it gets pulled under. The tail is calf tail too, and the body is yellow. Schmidt dubs it, though he thinks Corey used yarn.
The fly traveled. In 1999 Fly Anglers Online ran Corey's Calf Tail as a southern Appalachian attractor, cut down in size from a Michigan night-fishing pattern.
Materials
| Hook | Dry, size 10 (Mustad 94840) |
|---|---|
| Thread | Black 6/0 |
| Wing | White calf tail, a heavy bunch, divided and cocked forward (Tied in first, before the tail and body.) |
| Tail | White calf tail, body length |
| Body | Yellow dubbing (The original was most likely yellow yarn.) |
| Hackle | Coachman brown, palmered through the wing to the eye |
Tying video
Corey Calf Tail by Schmidt Outfitters
Sources
- Schmidt, R. "Corey Calf Tail." Schmidt Outfitters, YouTube.
- "Corey's Calf Tail." Fly of the Week #106, Fly Anglers Online, August 30, 1999.
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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.