The Michigan Stone - Fly Tying Mike Valla's Founding Flies

The Michigan Stone dry fly is a 1950s pattern created by Paul Young who came up with it on Michigan's Au Sable River. Brought to light in a 1971 article by Chauncy Lively in the Pennsylvanian Angler, this pattern has since largely dropped off the radar. Tied to imitate a yellow stonefly of the region (or the common yellow sally in the mid-Atlantic), this can be an effective summer pattern.

This pattern was tied from instructions in Mike Valla's "Tying the Founding Flies."

Hook: #16-18 dry fly
Thread: Yellow
Body: Yellow rabbit or synthetic dubbing
Rear hackle: Grizzly dry
Wing: Deer hair
Front hackle: Grizzly dry, one size smaller

Savage Flies is a project with the mission of encouraging and teaching fly tying to as many people as possible. The channel is named after one of my western Maryland homewaters, the Savage River. I've been uploading at least three new videos a week (usually Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday).

Thanks for stopping by. Please let me know in the comments if you have any tips or tricks that could help me or anyone else watching.