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FlyTyer's Corner

by Bill Carnazzo

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Bill's Simple Stone

Here is another in our series of simple patterns. This pattern is very generic--which is its attraction for me. It can be tied in any color or size, and imitates virtually any species of stonefly nymph. The materials are common and inexpensive. And, by the way, it seems to appeal to the quarry--judging by the "field tests." I have selected plain ol' black, but use your ingenuity.

This fly needs to be right on the bottom and fished with an indicator. Takes will be subtle, so keep a sharp, focused eye--and see ya on the creek.

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Cover the hook shank with thread: apply 6 winds of weight at the thorax area. Do not crowd the head area, as room will be needed to tie of wing case and form a nice head. Secure the weight with thread wraps.
  2. Just above the back of the barb (smash it), apply a small ball of dubbing. Tie one goose biot onto each side of the hook  in form of a ball. By winding the thread back against the ball, the biots will splay out easily. The tail should be no longer than 1/4 to 3/8" long, depending on hook size.
  3. Tie the rib wire on in front of the tail.
  4. Dub a sparse abdomen--meaning not too thick. The abdomen should cover the rear 2/3 of the hook.
  5. Wind the ribbing material forward and tie off at the forward end of the abdomen.
  6. Remove about 1/2" of pheasant tail fibers from the stem of the feather. Take these and tie them in by their butts, with the butts facing forward and tips to the rear. They should be tied in just where the abdomen ends. (Hint: to avoid a gap between the abdomen and wingcase, wind back over  the butts and onto the abdomen slightly).
  7. Dub the thorax area without crowding the head area. The thorax should be thicker than the abdomen.
  8. Pull the pheasant tail over the thorax and tie off about 1/8" behind the eye. Do not cut off the butts yet.
  9. Isolate 3 of the butt fibers on the far side of the hook and pull them to the rear. Do the same on the close side of the hook. Now trim of the remainder of the butts and form the head while at the same time tying back the 6 fibers which you left uncut. these will form the legs. Trim them to a length which is just short of the point of the hook.

MATERIALS

Hook: Tiemco 200R or equivalent, sizes 6-14
Thread: Black 6/0
Weight: 6 wraps of lead or substitute at thorax
Tail: Black goose biots
Rib: Copper wire
Abdomen: Black sparkle dubbing
Wing Case: Pheasant tail
Thorax: Same as abdomen
Head: Thread (gold or black bead optional)

Enjoy, and see ya on the creek...!!!

Copyright 1998 by Granite Bay Flycasters unless otherwise noted.