Michigan Flies

Flies / Nymph

Spring Wiggler

A

Michigan steelhead fly, in use over fifty years

A yellow chenille and fox squirrel Hex nymph that has been a Michigan steelhead fly for more than fifty years. Schrems West Michigan TU calls it effective year-round and especially in winter on the Muskegon. Dead-drift it on the bottom in runs below gravel; the bright variants double as an attractor in stained water.

#6–10Yellow chenille with fox squirrelOrangeChartreuse
What the pattern looks like
Reference photos of the Spring Wiggler tied by others, shared by their photographers. Not our flies; our own product photos replace these as they are shot.

Photo © Jackson Hole Fly Company, 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
SteelheadBrown troutRainbow trout (resident)

Setups

  • Indicator nymphing
  • Chuck and duck
How it's tied
A
Spring's Wiggler (Michigan Wiggler). Michigan's old standby steelhead nymph: a chenille body, palmered hackle and a fox squirrel tail pulled over the back, tied to suggest the Hexagenia 'wiggler' nymphs bait anglers drift on the Muskegon and Pere Marquette. Our own write-up of the standard tie, checked against the sources below. Recipe by Dick Smith, Schrems West Michigan Trout Unlimited (2009).

Materials

Hook
Mustad 3906B or TMC 200R, sizes 4-10Nomad Anglers ties a #4 200R for steelhead; #6-10 is the usual range.
Thread
6/0, black or brown
Weightoptional
Lead-free wire, small gaugeOptional so the profile stays slim; some tiers add small bead-chain or mono eyes instead.
Tail
Red fox squirrel tail hairLeave the butts long; they become the shellback.
Riboptional
Gold wireUsed in the Muskegon original to bind the shellback down through the hackle.
Body
Medium chenille, yellowYellow was the original colour; orange, chartreuse, olive, tan and brown are all standard now, and flashier chenilles or hot butts are common.
Hackle
Soft brown or grizzly saddle hackle, palmered the full length of the body
Shellback
The same fox squirrel hair pulled forward over the backHalf to two thirds of the tail bundle is brought forward; a coat of UV resin on it adds durability.

Steps

  1. 1.Start the thread behind the eye and run it to the bend. Add a few turns of small wire under the body if you want the fly to fish deep.
  2. 2.Clean the short underfur out of a bundle of fox squirrel tail and tie it in at the bend so the tips extend about one hook gap past the bend. Do not cut the butts; bind them back along the shank so they stick out over the tail with the tips.
  3. 3.Tie in the gold wire rib, if using, and the saddle hackle by its butt at the bend.
  4. 4.Strip the fuzz from the end of the chenille to expose the core, tie the core in at the bend, and wrap the chenille forward in touching turns to just behind the eye. Tie off and trim.
  5. 5.Palmer the hackle forward through the chenille in open turns, tie it off behind the eye and trim.
  6. 6.Separate half to two thirds of the squirrel hair from the tail, pull it forward over the top of the body, hold it firmly and bind it down behind the eye.
  7. 7.If you used a rib, spiral the gold wire forward over the shellback and through the hackle, wiggling it so it traps as few hackle fibres as possible, and tie it off.
  8. 8.Trim the squirrel butts, build a neat head, whip finish and cement. A thin coat of UV resin over the shellback is optional.
  9. 9.Trim the hackle short on top if you want a slimmer, more nymph-like profile; leave it full for the classic buggy look.

From the tier

  • Dick Smith (Schrems West Michigan TU) says the pattern has caught steelhead every winter for more than fifty years and is still the standard steelhead fly stocked by Michigan tackle stores.
  • Nomad Anglers fishes it three ways depending on water: dead-drifted with or without an indicator, swung, or stripped.
  • Global FlyFisher notes it grew from watching centre-pin anglers drift live wigglers; tie it big, and vary the body colour rather than the construction.

Nymph fishing for steelhead - Schrems West Michigan Trout Unlimited Recipe and history follow Dick Smith's SWMTU article; the step order follows the Tight Lines and Nomad Anglers write-ups, with the wire-over-shellback detail from Smith. Unconfirmed: The Michigan Sportsman forum recipe (Mustad 3906, wingcase of squirrel, palmered saddle) was visible only in search snippets because the thread is paywalled; the date of origin is given only as 'over fifty years' by SWMTU. Also checked against Paul D, Tight Lines Fly Fishing (2019), Tight Lines Fly Fishing: Paul's March 2019 Fly of the Month (Spring's Wiggler), David Lilly, Nomad Anglers (2017), Nomad Angler Presents - Fly of the Month (Michigan Wiggler) - Coastal Angler & The Angler Magazine and Piscator Flies, Global FlyFisher (2018), Michigan Wriggler (aka Spring Wriggler) | Global FlyFisher.

Materials to buy
Everything one Spring Wiggler takes, each item once: 5 items, plus 3 optional. Quantities are for a single fly. We do not sell components yet; when we do, these will link to them.

Hook and hardware

  • Wet-fly or curved nymph hook1

    size 4-10 · Mustad 3906B or Tiemco 200R

    Hook

Feathers and fur

  • Red fox squirrel tail1 tail

    natural

    TailShellback

  • Saddle hackle1 feather

    brown or grizzly

    Hackle

Synthetics, flash and legs

  • Chenilleabout 8 in

    medium, yellow (or orange, chartreuse)

    Body

Thread and finish

  • Tying thread1 spool

    6/0 black or brown

    Thread

  • UV resin or head cementoptional1

    Shellback

Other

  • Lead-free wireoptionalabout 4 in

    small gauge

    Weight

  • Gold wireoptionalabout 6 in

    small

    Rib

Sources