Our fly boxes are full of patterns–both famous and obscure–and each has a history. Someone, somewhere came up with the idea for the fly and then sat down and tied. Michigan fly-fishing legend Ray Schmidt has started a cool video series on classic Great Lakes patterns, in which he offers the fly’s origins and then talks about ways tiers have altered or adapted the pattern over the years. Here are two great examples, featuring patterns fished by perhaps 90% of trout anglers at one time or another. It’s fascinating stuff.
Ray has also filmed histories of the Borchers Special and the Roberts Yellow Drake, and there are more on the way.
