classic Michigan dry fly · 1950s
Roberts' Yellow Palmered Caddis
Also called Yellow Caddis, Roberts' Palmered Caddis
Likely origin Deschaine's column and a 2014 forum tying write-up both credit Roberts and give the same purpose and materials, but the forum post likely draws on Deschaine, so it is not clearly independent.
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.
Roberts called this one a caddis, but it was made for the golden drake and the big golden stonefly. It has a yellow wool body with a wool egg-sac loop, heavy palmered brown hackle and spent grizzly wings. A sample he tied is on display at the DNR's Ralph A. MacMullen Conference Center in Roscommon.
Materials
| Hook | 2X-long dry (Mustad 94831), sizes 6 to 10 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Yellow 6/0 |
| Tail | Small bunch of pheasant tail fibers |
| Egg sac | Yellow wool loop at the rear |
| Body | Yellow wool |
| Rib | Brown hackle, palmered heavily |
| Wing | Grizzly hackle tips, paired and spent |
| Hackle | Brown |
Sources
- Deschaine, T. "Clarence Roberts: Au Sable River Tyer." Fly Anglers Online, July 30, 2012.
- ScottP. "Roberts' Palmered Caddis SBS." Fly Patterns forum, Fly Anglers Online, May 8, 2014.
- "Showcasing the DNR: The game warden and the Yellow Drake." Michigan DNR bulletin.
- "The Other Fly-Tying Legend." Northern Express, November 16, 2025.
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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.