modern Michigan dry fly · by 2010
Polar Commander
Likely origin The archive card and Deschaine's 2010 Fly Anglers Online column agree on both tyers, but both come from Deschaine and neither gives a date.
History
The Polar Commander is credited to two Michigan tyers, commercial tyer Jay Neve of Bellevue and Don Fox of Chassell. It was made as a night fly for Pteronarcys dorsata, the big nocturnal stonefly sometimes called the Midwestern salmonfly, which runs 30 to 40 mm long.
Materials
| Hook | Long-shank (Mustad 9672), sizes 2 to 10 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Yellow 6/0 |
| Tail | Two ginger-dyed stripped goose biots, short and forked |
| Body | Yellow deer hair laid around the shank, cross-wrapped with thread |
| Wing | White bucktail or calftail over the back to the tail tip (the original used polar bear hair, which is restricted) |
| Hackle | Brown and grizzly, mixed |
Sources
- Deschaine, T. "Polar Commander." Michigan Dry Flies archive recipe card.
- Deschaine, T. "Polar Commander." Fly of the Week, Fly Anglers Online, August 2, 2010.
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.