classic Michigan dry fly · mid to late 1960s
Ted's Gray Irresistible
Unverified origin Only Deschaine's Fly of the Week column (December 17, 2012, reposted 2014) names Ted Earl; nothing else found on him.
History
Ted Earl tied flies commercially in Kingsley, the village near Mayfield where the Adams was born, and Tom Deschaine dates this pattern to the mid or late 1960s. It was one of four Irresistibles Earl tied; the others were Brown Drake, Adams and White versions.
Despite the name it is not a spun-hair Irresistible. The body is gray yarn with a deer-hair back pulled over it and crisscrossed with thread, and Deschaine saw it as carrying the gray-and-grizzly colors and outline of the Adams in a hair-backed fly.
Materials
| Hook | Mustad 94870, sizes 8 to 12 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Black 6/0 |
| Tail | Fox squirrel tail (natural bucktail as a substitute) |
| Body | Gray wool yarn or dubbing |
| Back | Natural deer hair, flared at the tail, tips extending about a third of the tail length |
| Rib | Thread, crisscrossed over the back |
| Wing | Gray hackle tips |
| 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.