classic Michigan dry fly · 1930s
Michigan Stone
Also called Little Yellow Stone (color variant), Little Green Stone (color variant)
Unverified origin Only Tom Deschaine's Fly Anglers Online pieces (two articles, same author) were found naming Paul Young as originator and giving the 1930s date. Valla's book includes the pattern, but its attribution text could not be read online.
History
Paul H. Young, the Detroit rod builder and tackle dealer, is credited with this small stonefly dry from the 1930s. It uses a hackle at each end of the hook with a flat deer-hair wing in between, so it rides high and can also be fished wet.
Mike Valla included the Michigan Stone among the patterns in his Founding Flies material from Stackpole, and the Savage Flies channel tied it in a video series built on that book. Tom Deschaine's Fly Anglers Online articles say it remained a Midwest standard and describe yellow and green versions for different stoneflies.
Materials
| Hook | Fine-wire dry fly (Mustad 94833 or similar), sizes 14 to 20 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Yellow 6/0, or matched to the body color |
| Rear hackle | Grizzly, wound at the back of the shank |
| Body | Yellow rabbit fur or synthetic dubbing |
| Wing | Deer hair, a bundle about as thick as a kitchen match, tied flat over the body and reaching just past the bend |
| Front hackle | Grizzly, wound behind the eye |
| Color variants | Little Yellow Stone: amber to pale yellow dubbing. Little Green Stone: olive to bright green dubbing, yellowish-olive thread and hackle |
Tying video
The Michigan Stone - Fly Tying Mike Valla's Founding Flies by Savage Flies
Sources
- Deschaine, T. "Michigan Stone." Fly Anglers Online, May 31, 2014.
- Deschaine, T. "Our Man From Canada." Fly Anglers Online Fly of the Week, January 3, 2011.
- Valla, M. Tying the Founding Flies. Stackpole Books, 2013 (pattern list via Angle Books).
- "Paul H. Young." Wikipedia.
- "Paul Holden Young (1890-1960)." CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
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.