Michigan Flies

Flies / Egg

Feenstra's Better Than Spawn (BTS)

A

Kevin Feenstra, Muskegon River

Feenstra's articulated egg-and-fry: a size 10 rear hook wound with white grizzly marabou, joined by mono to a size 6 egg hook that carries craft eyes, a possum collar, pearl flash fins and a pink Ice Dub thorax. It reads as an egg with a fry attached, which is what drifts below spawning gravel in spring and behind salmon redds in fall. Drift it under an indicator or swing it slow on the Muskegon, Manistee and PM.

#6–10White and pink
What the pattern looks like
Reference photos of the Feenstra's Better Than Spawn (BTS) tied by others, shared by their photographers. Not our flies; our own product photos replace these as they are shot.

Photo © Feenstra Guide Service, used with permission · Better Than Spawn (BTS)

Season
Months this pattern is in play across Michigan, derived from what it imitates.
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
Imitates

Eggs

  • Chinook salmon eggs6.36–8.36 mm
  • Coho salmon eggs6–8 mm
  • Steelhead eggs4–5 mm
  • White and longnose sucker eggs3–3.1 mm

Forage

  • Salmon and steelhead fry and alevin
  • Sucker fry
Fish it for
SteelheadBrown troutRainbow trout (resident)

Setups

  • Indicator nymphing
  • Swinging flies (spey / switch)
  • Chuck and duck
How it's tied
A
BTS (Better Than Spawn). An articulated egg-and-fry on two hooks. From the tier's published pattern sheet. Recipe by Feenstra Guide Service (2015).

Materials

Rear hook
Size 10 4XL streamer hook with a straight (flat) eyeChemically sharpened, ideally.
Front hook
Size 6 egg hook
Thread
White (best) or yellow
Rear body
White grizzly marabou featherWound up the rear hook.
Eyes
Black craft or mono eyes
Connection
20 lb monoCrimped or glued so it cannot pull.
Collar
A tuft of Australian possum furCovers the joint.
Fins
Pearl Krystal FlashPulled forward and split to each side of the eyes.
Thorax
Pink Ice Dub

Steps

  1. 1.Tie in a grizzly marabou feather by the tip on the size 10 streamer hook.
  2. 2.Wind the remainder of the feather forward and finish the first hook.
  3. 3.Tie in a pair of black mono or craft eyes at the front of the egg hook and lash a piece of 20 lb mono to one side of the hook. Crimp the mono or glue it with Zap-A-Gap so it is very secure.
  4. 4.Thread the rear hook onto the mono and lash it to the other side of the hook. Again, crimp or glue it.
  5. 5.Tie in a clump of Australian possum fur to cover the joint between the two hooks.
  6. 6.Tie in some pearl Krystal Flash lying back over the possum.
  7. 7.Dub a thorax of pink Ice Dub on the front hook between the possum and the eyes.
  8. 8.Pull the Krystal Flash forward over the eye of the hook and tie it down.
  9. 9.Bring the thread back behind the eyes.
  10. 10.Pull half of the Krystal Flash to one side of the eyes and lash it down.
  11. 11.Pull the other half to the other side and lash it down. They should now look like fins on the sides of the fly.
  12. 12.Bring the thread back in front of the eyes and finish the fly.

Fly Pattern Sheet: BTS, Better Than Spawn (PDF) Transcribed from the guide service's two-page pattern sheet; the sheet lists materials in a paragraph, so parts are assigned from the steps.

Materials to buy
Everything one Feenstra's Better Than Spawn (BTS) takes, each item once: 9 items, plus 1 optional. Quantities are for a single fly. We do not sell components yet; when we do, these will link to them.

Hook and hardware

  • 4XL streamer hook, straight eye1

    Size 10

    Rear hook

  • Egg hook1

    Size 6

    Front hook

  • Craft or mono eyes1 pair

    Black

    Eyes

  • MonofilamentA short piece

    20 lb

    Connection

Feathers and fur

  • Grizzly marabou1 feather

    White

    Rear body

  • Australian possum furA tuft

    Collar

Synthetics, flash and legs

  • Krystal FlashA few strands

    Pearl

    Fins

  • Ice DubA pinch

    Pink

    Thorax

Thread and finish

  • Tying thread1 spool

    White, or yellow

    Thread

  • Quick-drying glueoptionalA drop

    Zap-A-Gap or similar

    Connection

Sources