classic Michigan dry fly · mid-1970s
Schmidt's Parachute Hex
Unverified origin Only the archive card, contributed by Schmidt himself, supports the date and lineage.
History
Ray Schmidt learned to tie at about age ten from his uncle, Clarence Roberts. In the mid-1970s he built this parachute Hex directly from Roberts' Yellow Drake.
His changes include goat body hair for the post, which he finds floats better and runs straighter and longer than calftail, and a touch of glow-in-the-dark flash. He treats the finished flies with Scotchgard and fishes them in the window just after the duns emerge.
Materials
| Hook | Dry (Daiichi 1280), size 8 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Yellow 3/0 waxed |
| Tail | Six to eight moose body hairs |
| Body | Bleached ginger deer body hair, cross-wrapped drake style and flared at the bend, coated lightly with Flex Seal |
| Wing | Goat body hair with a few strands of glow-in-the-dark Flashabou, posted |
| Hackle | Ginger, parachute |
Sources
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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.