Just to add another bit of history to the mix, the following is from an article I wrote for Fly Fisherman magazine some years ago. Cheers, Paul
"This general style of fly [bead head] can legitimately be considered a descendant of the Ice Fly, developed for crappie circa 1946 by a Michigan angler, Forrest Drew. According to Byron Dalrymple in Byron Dalrymple on Trout Fishing (1991), Drew's ice fishing flies had reversed hackle at the tail and head and he bent the eye upward at 45 degrees where he placed a small split shot. There were a number of patterns but one had "a hook with a gold colored shot" and Dalrymple has used them to catch trout in rivers since 1948." -- Paul Marriner Outdoor Writing & Photography. Member OWAA & OWC. Author of Atlantic Salmon, Ausable River Journal, Miramichi River Journal, and Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies.
