Tying Madsen's Skunk - a classic Michigan pattern
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- Usually credited to Earl Madsen of Grayling, Michigan, but possibly created by Jerry Webber in the 1940s, the Madsen's Skunk is a great all-purpose dry fly that can make a passable hopper, cricket or even stonefly. Legend has it that this was the first ever fly pattern to use rubber legs.
Hook: #8 streamer
Thread: Black
Tail: Squirrel tail
Body: Black chenille
Legs: White rubber
Wing/head: Deer hair
Michigan Dry Flies: www.michigandr...
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Good morning Matt good morning everyone thanks for the start of another great weekend
Appreciate it Marty! Have a great weekend my friend.
Morning Matt. Great history lesson. Not a big fan of rubber legs, but love the history of fly tying. Half the time I forget to tie them in. Hehehe! Have a blessed day.
Yep Nich, I know what you mean. Some modern materials kind of turn me off. I've never used those Lively Legz, or fish head shaped beads. But for some reason rubber lets don't bother me. :-)
@@SavageFlies Matt! Rubber legs are great for bass and some salt water. I just don't fish that species much or at all. Tried fish eyes on bait fish for trout, but they always fall off. They look great for art to me , I tie for fishing
Another straight forward hopper, just as terrestrial season has begun. Thanks Matt for another great video.
Oh yeah Lee! I'm even thinking of tying one of these with dyed black deer hair and making it a cricket.
Your site is so real that it makes me feel like I've known your for years! Thanks for sharing your time! KANSAS
Wow, that a great comment to hear! Thank you for this. :-)
Thanks for sharing Matt appreciate you my brother have a blessed day
Thanks! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)
Great looking fly. First I’ve heard about it but it certainly looks like a fish catcher. Thanks Matt.
Thanks Chad! Appreciate you watching and have a great weekend my friend!
Cool bug!! Thanks for sharing Matt!!
Appreciate it Franky!
Love it! Great tip on head. ThxMatt. Have a fabulous weekend. 🙂
Appreciate it Clyde! You have a great weekend too my friend. :-)
Cool fly Matt! Something new for me to try on the tieing bench. Tight lines. 👍
Thanks Jim! Go for it my friend. :-)
Thanks for the tip on cutting the forward facing hairs. Makes it quite a bit easier. You're the best, keep 'em coming!
Thanks Troy! I've seen some folks take care of that problem by taping the hair they want to keep but I think it's just easier to trim it before you let go of the hair with your material hand.
Your way seems easier and faster. I would think tape would pull some of the hairs out when removing it.
@@diecastrejuvenation7779 Yep, I agree! I think Barry Ord Clarke used something like painter's tape which is pretty low adhesive.
Nice pattern Matt. See no reason not to add a few of these to my box. Thanks for another great video!
Thanks Bill! I might fill up half of my panfish box with these in a few different colors. :-)
Vary nice fly thank you for your time sir
You're most welcome Charlie! Have a great weekend my friend.
Wow, thanks for featuring the fly, Matt! If anyone is interested, Ray Schmidt has an awesome TH-cam series about Great Lakes patterns and also covers the skunk!
You’re most welcome Christian! Thank you for letting me know about the site. I’ve already added several of these patterns to my to-do list. 👍
I second that statement about Ray Schmidt!
Nice fly Matt. Thanks for the history behind it. I think I'll put a few in my box.
Appreciate it Brian! And go for it my friend. :-)
Excellent pattern Matt, I will have to put a few in the box. Great history of this fly and I must check out his website. Thanks Matt for sharing
Thanks Layton! And definitely check out this resource. Lots of interesting patterns on it.
Hey Matt good morning ☕️☕️
Nice, love this one you always have a good pick and lot of variations. I know you are working on the video footage. I can’t imagine doing that and the effort it takes. 👍
Thanks Jim! Two horse shows this weekend so I'm not sure if I'll be able to sneak off to find some water. Maybe a local pond. We'll see. And yeah, it's going to take me a couple weeks to make anything out of the Catskills footage. :-)
@@SavageFlies I wouldn’t know even where to begin doing something like that.
Just a side note I am finding out about tungsten. They can sling that heavy weight right out of their mouth. You really have to be on top of it when you use anything heavy. I just forgot all about that🧐🤪
@@SavageFlies Oh y’all enjoy the horse show and give Maggie Bell our best we know she will do amazing 👍
@@jimholland1592 Yep, I agree! I think these heavy, hard-bodied flies work best for the Euro nymphers who always have a tight line and they get a hook set almost instantly. I always feel like when fishing these under an indicator, the fish could take it and spit it out before we even realize he tried to eat it!
Enjoyed the story, Matt. Going to have to check out that website. Thanks.
Definitely Jim! He's got some pretty unique patterns there.
Nice tie. Very interesting history for this fly and a relatively simple tie. It's very similar to the Bully Spider fly used for panfish here in Florida. Thanks, again, for another interesting session.
Great note Ed! Now you made me go look up the Bully Bluegill Spider. I'm watching Flagler tie it right now. :-)
@@SavageFlies Enjoy tying it. Flagler does a great video on it.
Good morning Matt. Thanks to Christian for sending this one to you so it can be shared with everyone. Looks like that website will likely be flagged in Favorites. Really enjoyed the history of this fly. Some interesting comments already on this one too. I think this is cool looking fly and one that’s going into my fly box. Take care Matt and have a great weekend.
Same here John! The site is definitely bookmarked in my "fly tying" folder and I've already spent a couple hours down in this rabbit hole. I'm thinking of making several of these in some bright colors for my panfish box. But is it still a "skunk" if it's got a red or yellow body??
@@SavageFlies Well you could call it a skunk…..who’s going to argue with you? 😁.
Great history lesson & a cool fly! Thanks Matt.
Appreciate it Garrett!
Looks like a fish catcher. Thanks Matt.
Yep, I could see this being one of my top panfish patterns!
Nice fly, Matt. I’ve always found it easier to trim the hair to length before tying in. One quick snip saves a lot of hassle. Someone commented about Grayling flies having been overlooked; couldn’t agree more. Earl Madsen was undoubtedly the most innovative of all those old time tyers.
Thanks Tim; I appreciate the tip! As for grayling, I know next to nothing about them. Other than what some of the great western European tiers say about them. I take it that a lot of our U.S. trout flies will work well for them but I don't know for sure.
More excellent material. You make my mornings and I appreciate your efforts. I look every day to see what you have to offer, and honestly enjoy the history as much as the tying segments. Thanks, Sir.
Wow, thank you Howard. This is such a great comment to get. And I really appreciate it. Thanks for watching my friend. :-)
Ironically I just finished tying about a dozen of these the day you posted this. Incredible fly. I go up to northern Michigan and fish for brook trout pretty much every week during the summer. This time of year, it's really the only pattern you need. I managed to catch a 16" native on this pattern last summer and a 14" the summer before. Love how informative your channel is, and the history/background you provide!
Holy cow Noah! A 16-inch brook trout is a trophy! I'm going to go fish some tiny brook trout water this weekend and if I catch anything bigger than six inches I'll call it a good day. And thanks for the kind words my friend. :-)
Nice backstory on this fly
Thanks Lora!
Neat fly
First rubber legs fly! That’s so cool. We throw a LOT of rubber leg flies and, specifically top water flies, here in Alabama.
Thank you for another excellent video Matt.
You're most welcome Andre! And PS: look out for your book on Saturday maybe. I got it to the post office yesterday and it shouldn't take too long to get from Maryland to Alabama. :-)
@@SavageFlies That’s fantastic. You are a scholar and a gentleman sir.
Great fly with an awesome history!! The first with rubber legs, how cool is that!! Thanks for sharing Matt!!
You bet James! I appreciate you watching my friend. :-)
Nice tie, looks easy. Think I'll put a couple in my box
Thanks Michael and go for it my friend!
Very cool awesome pattern Matt.thanks for the history and information
Appreciate it Mike!
I just encountered this fly fishing the Au Sable River out of Gates Fishing Lodge and it works well! Thanks, Matt!
Cool to hear! Thanks Brian. :-)
I really appreciate all the research you put in on the stuff you tie. I love watching thankyou.
Wow, thank you Sean! I appreciate the kind words my friend. :-)
Good morning Matt. Thanks for the info. on the website. Have never heard of this fly before. Look forward to tying some for the box and trying it here in Upstate NY. Have a great weekend and stay safe my friend.
Same here Karl! It was a new one to me. And you have a great weekend too my friend. :-)
Great fly. Thanks for the history lesson. I can’t wait to try this for bass and pan fish here in Texas. Love your channel.
Thanks Richard! I'm going to make a few more of these myself. With some bright colors for my panfish box. :-)
Good mornin Matt.Rubber legs,the first ones I used was bow string silencers.They work great,and comes in many colors now.Have a great weekend.
Great call Ken! Have a great weekend my friend.
Fun pattern Matt. Might have to tie a couple for the Catskills tomorrow.
Good luck brother! Text me some pictures if you get anything. :-)
@@SavageFlies yeah if I have reception. LOL you know how that goes LOL
Matt, great tying tutorial and thanks for sharing and great resource!! Very informative and enjoyable. Besides Mr. Trout I can see this pattern being a multi species fly. Looks like I will be ordering some more materials this weekend. Have a great day and tight lines.
Ha! Just go ahead and bite the bullet and get all the chenille colors in both small and medium. :-) But head's up if you do that- you'll end up tying flies like this in pink or kingfisher blue just for the heck of it!
@@SavageFlies LOL, I agree completely.
Thank Matt , your background and facts & history of all your videos are all very interesting , thanks for the time you spend on all the research 👍
Well thank you John; I appreciate the kind words my friend. :-)
You are right; this is a very interesting fly. The website looks quite interesting as well. An attractor or impressionistic terrestrial (hopper or other large bug?) like this should work almost anywhere. There are likely a lot of effective patterns that stay unknown outside the area where they originated. You are doing good work by finding &/or following up on suggestions of regional fly patterns & then sharing them with a wider audience. A tip of the hat to you, sir.
Oh yeah - it is “boy.” ;-)
p.s. There is an interesting article on the site of Mr. Deschaines’ trip fishing the Catskills. Thought you might enjoy it after your recent trip.
Thank you Bob this is a great comment. I am quite grateful to Christian for introducing me to Tom's archives. And I agree with you that this bug could be a lot of things. I'm thinking of changing the body color and making it a panfish bug too. Or tying it smaller, with black deer hair and trying it as a cricket. Boy, buoy, oh boy. I'll get that right someday. :-)
That was a nice read! I can't wait until I'm retired and have two straight weeks to go on adventures like this!
Definitely a cool looking fly Matt
Love the history on this historical fly
Thanks for the video
You got it Dave! Appreciate you watching. :-)
That’s an awesome looking fly and cool bit of tying history ! Thanks for sharing it with us Matt . Hope you have a great weekend
Thank you and you too my friend!
Hey brother, I'm still hoping to do that fly swap. Maybe Matt would join.. it's been a crazy busy summer so far.
Wyatt, I was happy to see your comment! Hope all is well with you!
Good job Matt. My compliments on your video format. Informative and organized.
Well thank you JB! I appreciate the kind words my friend. :-)
Hi Matt! Haven't heard about this fly, but I will ty it. All the best.
Thanks man! Have fun with it. :-)
Another awesome tutorial Matt! Thank CM for suggesting it. I don't know if you've seen Ray Schmidt's video of it as Christian mentioned but it's worth it, Wet version of it too. Lots of great comments here too, even one from FrankenFly! Thanks Matt, love your efforts and research!
Thanks Joe! And I had not seen Ray Schmidt's tie. I'm watching it now... and I haven't seen one of his videos in a good while! I love his "old cabin" theme. Thanks for the reminder. :-)
Lol yepper I remember using the Skunk We used to fish it A lot on the Manistee and Mason track it was one of the first flies my son learned to tie in the fly tying class and the Maddum Max they both worked real well lol thanks Matt bring back memories 👍
Great comment Mark! Isn't that what makes fly tying and fishing so amazing? The memories we make while doing it, and enjoying them a second time when we think back. :-)
Thank you. I just really appreciate the videos you do.
Well thank you Arthur! I appreciate you watching my friend. :-)
Nice cool looking fly. Thank you Matt for the tie and the history. I may play a little with some different colors and maybe the size??? I can see this being a Smallmouth goodie. Great video buddy.
Absolutely! I'm making a few of these in panfish sizes with red and yellow bodies too. :-)
Matt, the Game Warden from that Michigan dry flies site was featured in Fly Tyer not to long ago. It's another Madsen pattern. VERY cool tie! Thanks again!
Oh man, I recall reading that issue! Great catch. I'll have to dig up that issue and see who tied it for the magazine. Yes, very cool!
Summer 2021 was the issue with the Game Warden in it. I just grabbed an old issue at random and there it was.
@@SavageFlies Ha! I've been digging for it too! I thought it was a fairly recent issue.Thanks! I think that issue featured a Catskill dry on the last page and an article on hen hackle tip wings vs Catskill style duck fiber wings. Those were awesome buggy patterns that author tied. Thanks Matt!🤓👍
Fish it all the time here in Grayling
That’s an awesome looking fly Matt. Needs to be in every fly box!
It's definitely going in my panfish box!
Tom Deschaine was a gentleman fly tier, well missed at Michigan fly shows. His documentation of Michigan Dry Flies is excellent. These are simple proven fish catching flies nothing fancy. I'd like to see you tie more of these flies in the future.
Thanks Vern. I absolutely plan to. He truly left us with a great resource and if I can do my part to help keep some of these patterns around I'd be honored to.
Nice pattern! It's an interesting history, too.
Thanks Tom! I appreciate it my friend. :-)
Definitely a very interesting fly looking forward to trying this out . I've just bought a Regal Medallion vice so very excited about tying new flies lol
Oh man, if this is your first Regal, you're in for a treat! They are pretty much my favorite vises to tie on. :-)
@@SavageFlies yeah it's my first Regal lol
I’ve heard it Stinks🤙🏽
Ha! I was waiting for somebody to say this. Or something like, "It would suck getting skunked with a skunk." :-)
Good Morning Matt. This is a great fly that works everywhere. Ray Schmidt introduced this fly to me when fishing the Manistee River near Wellston, MI around 40 years ago. You can tie the fly using the traditional materials and also use different materials and colors for the body including variegated chenille or dubbing. Tied on a TMC 200R size 8 with black coffee variegted chenille is one of my favorite Smallmouth flies. Thanks for introducing this fly and touching on the history. Take Care
Thank you for this cool bit of history Gary! I'm thinking of doing some of these in bright colored bodies for my panfish box. But now that you mention it, a gold or brown variegated body would look great! It kind of reminds me of a deer hair girdle bug. Of course this one predated a girdle bug by many years. :-)
Hi Matt, getting caught up on some videos I missed while fishing in the UP.
The skunk. One of my favorites for brookies. My daughter, now almost 30, tied this classic Michigan pattern as a child. Not sure how to add a picture here, but I found one of her flies with a label from around 2000.
Keep up the great work, love those Michigan Flies! I think Grayling gets looked over too often in the history of our sport and in conservation.
Thanks John! I just now finished Friday's video so am sitting down to the comments and email. I LOVE the one your daughter tied. You've got to save that thing. :-) And what a great memory that must be.
Another nice fly Matt, and from a Michigan tier no less. Lots of good tiers here in Michigan or that are from Michigan. Kelly Galloup, Gunnar Brammer, Mike Schultz and Russ Madden come to mind but there's lots more. Keep the good stuff coming.
Thanks Dave! And don't forget Len Halladay who came up with what might be the most successful fly ever created- the Adams. I can't remember where he fished (Au Sable?) but I certainly remember he was a Michigander. :-)
Another fine Ty Matt I'm also going to check out Tom Dushanes site looks interesting
Thanks John; and definitely give it a look! Got some great stuff on it.
@@SavageFlies checked out Toms site .impressive I Put it in my bookmarks
thanks matt see ya joe
I'm in Michigan. Our flies! oh yeah! 🙂
Man, ya'll have come up with some great ones over the years!
Cool fly Matt. How awesome is that first dry fly to use rubber legs.
I know David! Reading that totally surprised me. :-)
The wet version of Madsen's Skunk is one of my favorites, and the one I turn to when nothing else seems to be working. Video on same from Ray Schmidt's series: th-cam.com/video/nkiT1pMnkCQ/w-d-xo.html
Cool! Thanks for the link. :-)
I have been trying to tie some of the flies you tied here. How do you keep material, deer hair, from spinning around the hook?
One way is to wax your thread first, and put a wrap just around the hair before putting a wrap around the hair and the hook. This will help some but other than that, it just takes a lot of practice. I still can't pull it off every time.
Hi Matt, trying to get in touch with you. Sent you an email and an instant message on Instagram. Not sure if you saw them, so I thought I would try this. By the way, I've tied and fished the Madsen's Skunk in Michigan. It is definitely a fish catcher!
Hi Paul. I’m not really active on Instagram but I did respond to your email. Maybe check your spam folder. I can try to respond again when I get home from work tonight. Short answer- yes, I’m definitely interested!
@@SavageFlies Great! I checked my spam and promotions folders and I do not see your reply. Please try again when you get home. Thank you!
@@TheGreenZap Paul- I just sent you an email from my personal account (not the savageflies.com). Hopefully you'll get this one!