Michigan Flies

Flies / Nymph

Sowbug

A

Current Works pairs sowbugs with scuds, midges, Baetis, eggs and fry as the year-round diet of trout below Tippy Dam on the Big Manistee. A flat gray sowbug #14 to #18 fished slow and deep in vegetation and gravel seams is a winter and early-spring tailwater fly.

#14–18GrayTanclear water
What the pattern looks like
Reference photos of the Sowbug tied by others, shared by their photographers. Not our flies; our own product photos replace these as they are shot.

Photo © Quinn for Fly Deal Flies, used with permission · Sowbug

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

Forage

  • Sowbug (aquatic isopod)
Fish it for
Brown troutRainbow trout (resident)Steelhead

Setups

  • Indicator nymphing
  • Euro / tight-line nymphing
How it's tied
A
Ray Charles Sowbug. A flat ostrich-herl sowbug with a pearl flashback and a hot-orange head: the tailwater staple for isopods and, in a pinch, small scuds. Our own write-up of the standard tie, checked against the sources below. Recipe by Phil Monahan, Orvis News (video by Tim Flagler) (2015).

Materials

Hook
Standard dry-fly hook (Dai-Riki 300) size 16 (Orvis); or TMC 2457 or 3769 sizes 14-18 (Dakota Angler)
Thread
Fluorescent orange 70 denier or 8/0 (red on Dakota Angler's tie); it also forms the bright head
Flashback
Pearl Flashabou (one or two strands) or medium pearl tinsel
Body
Natural gray ostrich herl, one or two herls; tan-dyed herl for the Tan variant
Riboptional
Silver Ultra Wire or stainless wire, smallDakota Angler's addition for durability; Orvis/Tightline's tie has none.
Head cementoptional
Head cement on the thread head

Steps

  1. 1.Debarb the hook, start the thread behind the eye and wrap back to a point above the barb.
  2. 2.Tie in a strand of pearl Flashabou on top of the shank, keeping it centred, and bind it back to the bend. If you are adding a wire rib, tie it in now too.
  3. 3.Pick one or two ostrich herls, strip a short length of fibres off the base of the stem, and tie the bare stem in at the bend.
  4. 4.Wrap the herl forward in touching turns to about two eye-lengths behind the eye, stroking the fibres back on each turn so none are trapped; tie off and trim.
  5. 5.Part the herl fibres along the top, pull the Flashabou forward over the back and bind it down.
  6. 6.Fold the flash tag back and take a couple of wraps over the fold so it cannot pull out; trim. If ribbed, spiral the wire forward over the flash now and secure.
  7. 7.Build a distinct bright thread head, whip finish with four or five turns, and cement.

From the tier

  • Orvis/Flagler: the name has two stories, that even a blind fish can see the bright head, or a blind angler could catch fish on it; fish it subsurface trailed behind a weighted nymph and carry gray, tan, pink and orange. Flagler says to pay attention to the stem when tying in the herl.
  • Hans Stephenson (Dakota Angler) calls it a Bighorn staple that catches fish every day of the year and imitates small scuds as well as sowbugs; his tie adds a silver wire rib.
  • Michigan: no source fetched names a sowbug pattern specifically, but sowbugs share the weedy, spring-fed and tailwater habitat where Nomad Anglers says Muskegon and Manistee trout eat scuds all year; fish the gray sowbug in the same drifts below Croton and Tippy dams.

Video: How to Tie the Ray Charles Sowbug Steps follow the Orvis Learning Center sequence with Dakota Angler's optional wire rib folded in; the Michigan note is an inference from a scud page, flagged in the comments. Unconfirmed: No Michigan source specifically discussing sowbug patterns was found; the originator's name is not given by any fetched source. Also checked against Orvis Learning Center (Tightline Productions), The Ray Charles Sow Bug Pattern & Tying Instructions, Hans Stephenson, Dakota Angler & Outfitter (2012), Ray Charles Sow bug and Nomad Anglers, Michigan (2018), Klinkhammer Scud.

Materials to buy
Everything one Sowbug takes, each item once: 4 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

  • Hooks1 pack of 25

    sizes 14-18 · Dai-Riki 300 or TMC 2457

    Hook

Feathers and fur

  • Ostrich herl1 pack

    natural gray (add tan)

    Body

Synthetics, flash and legs

  • Flashabou1 hank

    pearl

    Flashback

  • Ultra Wireoptional1 spool

    silver, small · UTC

    Rib

Thread and finish

  • Thread1 spool

    fluorescent orange 70 denier · UTC

    Thread

  • Head cementoptional1 bottle

    Head cement

Sources