Michigan Flies

Flies / Egg

Micro Spawn (6 to 8 mm yarn egg)

A

A small yarn egg of 6 to 8 mm for gin-clear, low water when fish demand smaller, realistic patterns. Trout hooks (Daiichi 1130, TMC 2457) #14 to #16 match the 4 to 5 mm steelhead and brown trout eggs and 2 to 3 mm sucker eggs better than a salmon-sized Glo Bug; fish it on light tippet from winter through the May sucker spawn, and on small inland streams after the October brook trout spawn.

#14–16ApricotCreamPale pinkPale yellowclear water
What the pattern looks like
Reference photos of the Micro Spawn (6 to 8 mm yarn egg) tied by others, shared by their photographers. Not our flies; our own product photos replace these as they are shot.

Photo © Quinn, used with permission

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

  • Steelhead eggs4–5 mm
  • Brown trout eggs (resident and lake-run)4–5 mm
  • Brook trout eggs4.1–4.6 mm
  • White and longnose sucker eggs3–3.1 mm
  • Walleye eggs2–2.1 mm
Fish it for
SteelheadBrown troutRainbow trout (resident)Brook trout

Setups

  • Indicator nymphing
  • Euro / tight-line nymphing
How it's tied
A
Micro Egg. A 6 to 8 mm single yarn egg on a size 14 or 16 hook, the true size of a trout or sucker egg. The clear-water, pressured-fish egg, usually trailed behind a bigger fly. Our own write-up of the standard tie, checked against the sources below. Recipe by Orvis Learning Center.

Materials

Hook
Dai-Riki 135 1X-short scud (the Orvis video ties a size 22 version); TMC 2457 or Gamakatsu C14S in 14 to 16 (Kraimer's McFly Foam egg)Our sizes 14 and 16. Keep the hook small; the yarn sits above the shank and does not eat the gap.
Thread
UTC 70 denier fluorescent orange (Orvis); Danville Flymaster Plus matched to the yarn (Kraimer)An orange thread shows through as the yolk or blood dot.
Egg
McFly Foam, a thin pinch, in yellow (Orvis) or our colours Apricot, Cream, pale pink, pale yellow; Micro Glo Bug yarn also worksMcFly Foam's stretch rounds up better than standard yarn.
Tooloptional
A short length of tube (plunger-style hackle pliers with the guts removed, or the straw from a spray can) and a bobbin threaderOnly for the Orvis tube method; the parachute-post method needs no tool.
Head cementoptional
Thin cement on the wraps

Steps

  1. 1.Debarb the hook and lay a thread base from behind the eye to above the point, ending at mid-shank. With orange thread this base is what reads as the yolk through the finished egg.
  2. 2.Pull off a thin pinch of McFly Foam, about pencil-lead thickness for a size 16, and draw it through the short tube with a bobbin threader so the fibres are compressed and aligned.
  3. 3.Hold the tube across the shank at the thread position with foam exposed on both sides. Lash the foam with diagonal X wraps front to back, then back to front, until it is fixed at right angles to the shank.
  4. 4.Let the thread untwist, then whip finish under the foam and cut the thread. Twisted thread breaks on these tiny wraps.
  5. 5.Slide the tube back to expose about 1/8 in of foam on each side of the wraps, and snip each side square at that length.
  6. 6.Roll the two stubs between your fingertips until they merge into one small sphere, and touch the wraps with cement.
  7. 7.Without a tube: lay a thin bundle across the shank, bind its middle, pull both ends up and post around the base like a parachute with four or five tight wraps, whip finish in front, trim to about half the hook gap and roll it round (Kraimer's method).

From the tier

  • The Orvis Learning Center video reserves this fly for low, clear and slow water, and warns to uncord the thread before the whip finish so it does not snap.
  • Ted Kraimer (Current Works): McFly Foam is clingy, so smooth your fingertips with a pumice stone; blend two close colours for a mottled natural egg; keep the hook small because almost all the material sits above the shank.
  • Big Y Fly Co sells micro eggs down to size 24 in Peachy King, Steelhead Orange and Chartreuse and recommends fishing them in tandem with a larger egg.

Salmon & Steelhead Fly Patterns - Micro Egg (Pattern & Tying Instructions) Steps summarize the Orvis Learning Center tube method and Kraimer's parachute-post McFly Foam egg scaled down to 14 to 16; 'Micro Spawn' is our name for a generic micro yarn egg and no source ties a fly by that exact name. Unconfirmed: The Orvis page summary attributed the video to Tom Rosenbauer, which may be a transcription error (the Learning Center tying videos are usually Tim Flagler's); the presenter is left as the Learning Center. Also checked against Ted Kraimer, Current Works Guide Service, How to Tie the McFly Foam Egg Pattern, Big Y Fly Co, Micro Egg and The Caddis Fly Angling Shop, Steelhead Egg Flies | Salmon & Trout Egg Pattern Flies.

Materials to buy
Everything one Micro Spawn (6 to 8 mm yarn egg) takes, each item once: 3 items, plus 2 optional. Quantities are for a single fly. We do not sell components yet; when we do, these will link to them.

Hook and hardware

  • Short scud hook1

    size 14 or 16 · Dai-Riki 135, TMC 2457 or Gamakatsu C14S

    Hook

Synthetics, flash and legs

  • McFly Foam1 pack per colour (a pinch per fly)

    Apricot, Cream, pale pink, pale yellow · McFly Foam

    Egg

Thread and finish

  • Tying thread1 spool

    70 denier fluorescent orange · UTC

    Thread

  • Head cementoptional1 bottle

    Head cement

Other

  • Plunger hackle pliers or spray-can straw, plus bobbin threaderoptional1

    Tool

Sources