modern Michigan dry fly · early 1980s
Smock's Deer Fly
Also called Deer Fly
Unverified origin Only Deschaine's 2013 column describes the fly, and it dates it as 'most probably' the store years.
History
Bob Smock Sr. of Grayling, who learned to tie from Clarence Roberts in 1956, most likely designed this deer fly imitation while he owned Old Au Sable Sporting Goods between 1981 and 1986. It is a small peacock-bodied dry with grizzly hen tips laid back in a delta and a grizzly collar.
Smock tied commercially from about 1975, at his peak around 600 dozen flies a year, and later ran a hackle business from his garage. He is better known for his tangerine-hackled Sulfur Dun.
Materials
| Hook | Standard dry (Mustad 94840), sizes 14 to 16 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Black 6/0 |
| Body | Peacock herl |
| Wing | Grizzly hen hackle tips, swept back in a delta |
| Hackle | Grizzly |
Sources
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.