classic Michigan dry fly · 1950s
Roberts' Spent Blue
Also called Spent Blue
Likely origin Only Deschaine's column (drawn from Roberts' family notes and his mounted display) describes this fly; other sources confirm Roberts but not the pattern.
History
Clarence Roberts, a Grayling game warden, began selling flies around 1949 and is best known for Roberts' Yellow Drake. Most of his own patterns date from the 1950s; he raised roosters for hackle and used hair from road-killed deer.
The Spent Blue is one of his lesser-known flies: a pale blue floss body ribbed in gold under spent badger wings. Tom Deschaine thinks it was meant as an attractor or searching fly rather than a copy of a particular insect.
Materials
| Hook | Standard dry (Mustad 94840), sizes 10 to 12 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Black 6/0 |
| Tail | Wood duck flank fibers |
| Body | Pale blue floss |
| Rib | Gold tinsel |
| Wing | Badger hackle tips, spent |
| Hackle | Brown and grizzly, mixed |
Sources
- Deschaine, T. "Clarence Roberts: Au Sable River Tyer." Fly Anglers Online, July 30, 2012.
- "Showcasing the DNR: The game warden and the Yellow Drake." Michigan DNR bulletin.
- "The Other Fly-Tying Legend." Northern Express, November 16, 2025.
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.