classic Michigan dry fly · probably 1920s or 1930s
Halladay's Hopper
Unverified origin Only source is one Deschaine column built on Halladay family information, and the date is Deschaine's estimate.
History
Len Halladay's hopper has a kapok body over a red yarn underbody, a yellow yarn rib, a red yarn tail, a fox squirrel underwing under a mallard quill wing and one brown hackle. Tom Deschaine pointed out that hopper imitations were scarce in the 1920s and 1930s and thought this may be one of the first in Michigan.
Kapok, a buoyant plant fiber, went into life jackets during World War II, and Deschaine believed that shortage is why so many kapok-bodied patterns of the period dropped out of use. He assumed the rib was the same Chadwicks mending yarn Halladay used elsewhere.
Materials
| Hook | Mustad dry, long shank, size 8 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Black 6/0 |
| Tail | Tuft of red yarn |
| Underbody | Red yarn |
| Overbody | Kapok |
| Rib | Yellow yarn |
| Underwing | Fox squirrel tail |
| Overwing | Mallard quill |
| Hackle | Brown, one feather |
Sources
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.