modern Michigan dry fly · 1970s or early 1980s
Yellow Bellied Mattress Thrasher
Also called Mattress Thrasher
Unverified origin Public sources tie the fly to the Au Sable, but none names an originator, and one dates it earlier than the Michigan Dry Flies archive does.
History
This is a downwing stonefly dry with a black abdomen, a deer-hair wing laid flat and a yellow thorax under a palmered hackle. A tyer who posted it on The Fly Tier's Page wrote that he first met the pattern on the Au Sable in the 1970s, and Gates Au Sable Lodge still lists "mattress thrasher stones" among its late-spring flies.
The Michigan Dry Flies archive names Au Sable guide Craig Perry as the originator in the early 1980s. No public source found names Perry, and the 1970s account would put the fly earlier than that date.
Materials
| Hook | Dry, 2XL, sizes 8 to 10 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Black 6/0 |
| Abdomen | Black dubbing (seal and rabbit blend in one version) |
| Wing | Fine deer hair, laid flat over the abdomen |
| Thorax | Pale yellow dubbing |
| Hackle | Grizzly or dun, palmered through the thorax in open turns and clipped underneath |
Sources
- Williams, S. "Yellow Bellied Mattress Thrasher." The Fly Tier's Page (photo by Hans Weilenmann), 2002.
- "Mellow yellow." Gates Au Sable Lodge fishing report, May 2016.
- Deschaine, T. Michigan Dry Flies archive.
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.