Betty McNault

The signature wet/dry fly for Upper Peninsula brook trout fishing! Our Betty is a local UP version of an old Denver, Colorado variation of the Royal Trude called the Betty McNall. Ishpeming resident & fly tier Bill Nault supplied this pattern to local fishing shops, and most famously to John Voelker/Robert Traver who immortalized the pattern in his stories like "The Old Fox" in Trout Madness...and thus the Betty "McNault" was born. The UP Betty differs from the Colorado original in that it retains the front peacock shoulder on the body of the original Royal Trude whereas the McNall version only has peacock in the rear & red floss all the way to the wing. I consider mine to be "full dress" Betties because I like to add a small red wire rib for durability (and sometimes a little red flashabou in place of the floss). I like to tie mine for specific purposes by changing the hackle, soft/hen for wet fly/streamer fishing and good quality dry fly necks/saddles for dry flies, but if I could only have one it would be a good quality furnace Indian neck just like Bill always used. This fly has been a magnet for UP brook trout, and the occasional large brown, for decades fished wet or dry in sizes 8-16.