modern Michigan dry fly · 1980s or 1990s
Woolly Worm (Koernke)
Also called Koernke's Dry Woolly Worm
Unverified origin Only the archive recipe card supports the tyer, place and date. No date is given beyond the years the shop was open.
History
Most Woolly Worms are sunk, but this one was built to float. Bill Koernke of Grayling, who ran Bill's Fly Shop south of County Road 612 in the 1980s and 1990s, dropped the usual tail and used a Mylar chenille that sheds water better than plain chenille.
It copies the fuzzy caterpillars that fall from the banks in October. Tom Deschaine worked out the recipe by studying a Koernke fly under a microscope, after the family did not answer his questions, so the dressing is his reconstruction.
Materials
| Hook | Dry (Mustad 94840 or 94833), size 6 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Green 6/0 |
| Body | Rusty-brown Mylar woolly chenille |
| Hackle | Dark ginger, palmered the length of the body |
| Head | Yellow 6/0 thread |
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.