Michigan Flies

Flies / Dry fly

Regan's Hendrickson Spinner

A

Au Sable River, Grayling

Rusty spinner for the Hendrickson fall, which happens late afternoon into dusk over riffles and is often compressed into about thirty minutes. Cool evenings suppress the fall and push it to the next morning. Fish it flush in the film below riffles from late April through mid May.

#12–14Rusty brownclear waterafternooneveningdusk
What the pattern looks like
Reference photos of the Regan's Hendrickson Spinner 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

The naturals

Fish it for
Brown troutBrook troutRainbow trout (resident)

Setups

  • Dry fly
How it's tied
A
Regan's Spinner (Hendrickson). Jerry Regan's deer-hair spinner for the Au Sable's evening Hendrickson fall: hair body, hair-butt post, hen-tip wings and a parachute hackle that lets it ride flush and float all evening. Our own write-up of the standard tie, checked against the sources below. Recipe by Jerry Darkes, Fly Tyer (2019).

Materials

Hook
2X-long dry-fly hook, sizes 12-14
Thread
Dark brown 6/0 (140 denier) Danville
Tail
Ring-necked pheasant tail fibers or black moose hair
Body
Brown deer hair, laid along the shank and bound with X-wrapsRusty brown is the Hendrickson spinner shade; Regan dyes his own
Post
Butt ends of the body deer hair pulled upright
Wings
Two dun hen hackle tips, tied spent
Thoraxoptional
Peacock herl (Barry Ord Clarke's version) or thread
Hackle
Brown and grizzly, wound parachute style around the hair post

Steps

  1. 1.Cover the shank with a single layer of thread and tie in a sparse tail of pheasant tail fibers or moose, about one and a half shank lengths, at the bend.
  2. 2.Stack a bunch of brown deer hair, lay it along the top of the shank with the tips extending over the tail, and bind the rear end tightly so the hair flares slightly around the tail.
  3. 3.Wrap forward over the hair in open spirals, then back and forward again so the thread forms X's along the body; stop a third of the shank behind the eye.
  4. 4.Pull the hair butts straight up, build a thread dam ahead of them and take several turns around their base to make a post.
  5. 5.Tie a pair of dun hen tips in front of the post, spent, and lock them flat with figure-eight wraps.
  6. 6.Tie one brown and one grizzly hackle in against the post, then wind a turn or two of peacock herl as a thorax around the wing roots if you use it.
  7. 7.Wind the hackles down the post three or four turns, tie off under the hackle and trim the tips.
  8. 8.Whip finish behind the eye and trim the post short, level with the top of the hackle.

From the tier

  • Michigan history: Regan is best known for his spinner series; Fly Tyer notes he tied guides' flies for the Au Sable for decades, dyes most of his own materials and ties without a bobbin.
  • Barry Ord Clarke calls it a fairly different fly to tie but worth it, and notes the same pattern tied on a #6 extra-long hook is Regan's Hex spinner.
  • Streamside stocks the Hendrickson spinner in 12 and 14 and fishes it from mid-April into May when the evening falls start on the Holy Water.

Tie One On - Grayling, Michigan Style Materials are the Regan's Spinner recipe printed in Fly Tyer (Darkes, 2019); steps follow the deer-hair post method described there and shown by Barry Ord Clarke; the Featherbender page supplied the peacock thorax variant. Unconfirmed: Fly Tyer prints the generic Regan's Spinner; that it is the same dressing Streamside sells as the Hendrickson Spinner (sizes 12-14, rusty brown) is inferred from size and color. Also checked against Barry Ord Clarke, The Feather Bender (2022), Regan's Mayfly Spinner, Fly Tyer / Barry Ord Clarke, Regan's Mayfly Spinner and Streamside Au Sable River Fly Fishing Guides, Regan's Hendrickson Spinner Size 14.

Materials to buy
Everything one Regan's Hendrickson Spinner takes, each item once: 6 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

  • 2X-long dry-fly hooks1 per fly

    sizes 12-14

    Hook

Feathers and fur

  • Ring-necked pheasant center tail1 feather

    Tail

  • Moose body hairoptional1 patch

    Tail

    Alternative tail

  • Deer body hair, dyed brown1 patch

    rusty brown

    BodyPost

  • Dun hen cape1 cape

    Wings

  • Peacock herloptionala few strands

    Thorax

  • Brown and grizzly dry-fly capes1 each

    Hackle

Thread and finish

  • Danville 6/0 thread1 spool

    dark brown · Danville

    ThreadThorax

Sources