Rocky River Trout Unlimited

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  • Rocky River TU
    • RRTU Events >
      • Monthly Meetings
      • Streamside Day Trips
      • Alarka Trips
      • Fly Tying Classes >
        • Instructional Tyers
    • Davidson River HEP
    • Conservation >
      • Conservation Partners >
        • NC Camo Coalition
    • Diversity >
      • WOMEN ON THE FLY
      • BSA Merit Badge
    • We welcome your feedback!
    • Become a TU Member
    • Mission and Brief History
  • Calendar
  • FORR
  • Programs
    • Trout In The Classroom
    • RiverCourse Fly Fishing Youth Camp
    • Casting Carolinas
    • Wilson Creek Adopt-A-Stream and Stream Watch
    • South Mountain Adopt-A-Park
    • Stone Mountain State Park
  • Resources
    • Fly of the Month Patterns >
      • Dry Attractor >
        • Stealth Bomber
      • DRY FLY PATTERNS >
        • Adams Variant
        • Asher
        • Baigent's Variant
        • Blue Quill
        • BWO
        • BWO Catskill
        • BWO CDC Emerger
        • BWO Sparkle Dun
        • BWO Spinner
        • Carolina Wulff
        • CDC Biot Comparadun
        • CDL Comparadun
        • Coachman Variant
        • Crackleback
        • Dragonfly Dry
        • Dry Pheasant Tail Variant
        • Dun Fly, August Fly,Wasp Fly
        • Early Nelson
        • Egg Laying Caddis
        • Elk Hair Caddis
        • EZ Caddis
        • Female Adams
        • Fluttering Caddis
        • Gray Fox Variant
        • Griffith's Gnat
        • H & L Variant
        • Hopper Juan
        • Japanese Beetle
        • Jassid
        • Jim Charley
        • Klinkhamer
        • Lacewing
        • Light Cahill Catskill
        • Little Green and Little Yellow Stonefly
        • Mr. Rapidan
        • North Carolina Yellow Sally
        • Parachute Adams
        • Puff Diddy
        • October Caddis
        • Orange Forked Tail
        • Rattler
        • Red Headed Caddis
        • Smoky Mountian Candy
        • Trude
        • Rusty Spinner
        • Sulphurs Part 1
        • Sulphur Part 2
        • Yellow Palmer
      • Midges >
        • Grey Goose Midge Emerger
        • Morgan's Midge
      • Nymphs >
        • Brassie
        • Chironimid
        • Copper John
        • Crossover Nymph
        • Crow Fly
        • Damsel Fly Nymph
        • Deep Sparkle Caddis Pupa
        • Devil's Doorstop
        • Girdle Bug
        • Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear
        • Hot Creek Special
        • Mr. Rapidan
        • Peridgon Nymph
        • Realistic Stonefly
        • Royal Prince
        • Scud
        • Egan's Tasmanian Devil
        • Tups Indespensible
      • Scud >
        • UV Scud
      • Soft Hackles >
        • Center Bead Soft Hackle
        • Orange Partridge Soft Hackle
    • Fly Patterns
    • RRTU Class Recipes
    • NC General Hatch Charts
    • Fly Shops, Outfitters and Guides
    • Fly Fishing >
      • RRTU Reference Fly Tying >
        • Entomology Basics
        • More Entomology Basics
      • More Fly Fishing Basics
      • Fly Fishing Tips
      • Trout Fishing & Trout Fishing Stories
    • Fly Casting
    • History, Reading, References >
      • S. Appalachian & Smoky Mtn History >
        • Archive History >
          • Archive History
          • FORR Campaign >
            • FORR 2020
    • Calendar Copy
  • RRTU Store
Fly of the Month

We anglers are more likely to use a stonefly nymph rather than a stonefly dry fly. Since these stoneflies do exist in the stream bottom in great numbers as nymphs, large black, brown and golden colored stonefly nymph patterns are highly effective.

However, there are daytime “hatches” of small stoneflies in our Southern Appalachian streams that are very often ignored. Throughout the summer our North Carolina mountain streams typically have sporadic hatches of little yellow stoneflies or Alloperla caudata in the afternoon and medium brown stoneflies or Isoperla bilineata and Isoperla signata in the evening. Very often the medium brown stoneflies are very light brown or yellowish in color. By late summer the little green stoneflies or Alloperla inbecillia hatch replaces the medium brown’s and tends to mix in with the little yellow’s.

Hot Butt [Egg Laying] Stone

Taken a step further, pay close attention and you will find that rather than a stonefly hatch, you are in the middle of stoneflies depositing eggs. The eggs will be dull orange to red in color and the trout will key on that orangish-red egg sac when it appears over the water and on the surface of the water. A female stonefly with a full egg sac is burdened when first approaching the surface to deposit eggs and is vulnerable. Trout may likewise key on the vulnerability of the insect. Regardless of the reasoning for its success, the female version of a fly pattern is a great addition to the fly box.

Many, many decades ago, fly fishers in the smokies readily adopted and modified the Yellow Sally fly pattern which originated out West. Since both the little yellow stonefly and the medium brown stonefly appear one after the other and even together in our streams, a darker dun hackle is utilized to “match the hatch” of both. Add an orangish-red butt or hot butt and you have a female stone fly pattern.

Most all stoneflies hatch by crawling out of the stream along the banks, rocks and vegetation as nymphs. As the air dries the nymphal shuck the adult stonefly clinging to a rock, branch or even on the ground frees its wings, emerges and flies away to find a mate. To the angler this is an “invisible hatch”. The actual “visible hatch” the angler sees is during the mating and egg laying when the stoneflies congregate over the stream. For the little yellow stoneflies and medium brown stoneflies, the actual hatch or “invisible hatch” occurred during the morning or an even the prior morning. The “visible hatch” is the mating and egg laying in the afternoon and evening following the actual hatch.

After mating, the female stoneflies tend to congregate to lay eggs over the stream. They will not only be yellow in color but will have a red-orange egg sac. The N. C. Hot Butt Yellow Sally fly pattern is specifically designed to imitate the female little yellow stonefly and the medium brown stonefly. The egg laying will typically continue into the late-evening until the females are spent. The male stoneflies return to the stream as well. Some follow their female mate, some come later. By dusk, most of the stoneflies of the “visible hatch” are spent.

To fish the “visible hatch” take note as to whether the stoneflies have an egg sac. For the most part the Hot Butt Stone will be effective regardless. However, if there are a good number of stoneflies present with egg sacs, the hot butt version may well produce more catches. Until spent, stoneflies will hover very close to the surface. This will require that your Hot Butt Stone dry fly floats high on the surface, so keep applying floatant as needed. If the “visible hatch” is running late and you fish until dusk, you will be amazed at the overall number of these stoneflies available for the trout.

Hot Butt Stone
Hot Butt Yellow Sally
N. C. Hot Butt Yellow Sally
Fly of the Month 6.18

……recipe and instructions…….

Hot Butt Stone

…fly photo…

Hot Butt Yellow Sally

…fly photo…


- Tom Adams, Alen Baker















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