Fly of the Month 01.21 - Rex’s Realistic Stonefly Nymph
When you grabbed a few recommended flies at the fly shop, you may have noticed that the flies appear to either be an attractor fly pattern or suggestive fly pattern. An attractor fly is designed to get the instinctive or territorial attention of the fish, is typically composed of bright colors and may appear to be an extreme version of the intended fish food. Examples include a Chernobyl Ant as well as the Royal Wulff which imitates an upright and divided winged mayfly yet has a bright royal red band on the body that seems to readily attract fish. A suggestive fly is designed to somewhat match the size, shape, colors, textures and/or actions of the fish food an angler believes present at that time or during a “hatch”. Examples include exact color matching Catskill style flies like the Quill Gordon and March Brown as well as tail dunking emergers and wing cased nymphs which have the shape and color of the fish food imitated.
Realistic Flies
There is a third category of fly patterns which is a more precise case of imitating the fish food. A realistic fly pattern attempts to precisely imitate the size, shape and colors of the fish food. One could logically conclude that there is an imitation continuum from fly patterns that attract and may even look nothing like the fish food to suggestive fly patterns to an exact, artificial duplicate or realistic fly pattern.
Many realistic flies are created as a work of art rather than a fishable fly pattern. The early attempts to create realistic, fishable flies utilized wing burners for mayfly, caddis and stonefly wing shapes. Artistic fly tyers could cut wing shapes but the burners provided a highly consistent shape and size. Burnt winged and cut winged fly patterns may be considered art but are also durable, highly usable flies for matching the hatch. Today, burnt wings remain to be a proven technology along with Pro Caddis Wings and River Road Creations (RRC) foam wing cutters.
As technology has provided a means to manufacture components that are real in appearance and texture, realistic fly patterns are becoming a third major category of fly patterns in the anglers fly box. For example, some of the early manufactured components were made from cast metal (non-toxic lead substitute) such as Hareline scud/shrimp bodies, Fish Skull shrimp and cray(fish) tails. These fly patterns can use weight to sink better, so why not have more realism built into the fly pattern as weight. Tails and humps are easy, inexpensive casts to make, breaking new ground for realistic fly components that are both inexpensive and handy to use. Modern metal products include: Fish Skull nymph head, shaped precisely with eyes and mouth and Fish Skull sculpin helmet which looks exactly like a sculpin head. These components are a bit pricey but take realism to a whole new level.
Realistic tail components include:Fish Skull Frantic Fish Tails, Microfibbets for stiff, split mayfly tails and Kelly’s Damsel tails. Realistic bodies include: Crawbody which provide a realistic overbody body appearance with claws, Creature Hellgrammite bodies which provides realistic gills and legs, Pro Grammarus (Caddis) Shells which provide a realistic body appearance and Pro 3-D Shrimp Shells which also provide a realistic body appearance. Newer products are appearing along side stripped quill stems that have been used for centuries to give a more realistic ribbed body. For example, Hareline Tapered Quill printed sheets and Semperfi Perfect Quill printed sheets for realistic ribbed bodies leverage permanent lazer printing technology. Biots are used as a means for realistic ribbed-body of very small fly patterns such as BWOs and Sulphurs that work extremely well on the South Holston River during a hatch. Other examples include: Larva Lace which may be filled with a liquid to achieve a realistic transparency much like actual nymphs and finally micro Chenille or Vernille for worms. Need I say more about realistic bodies.
Jungle Cock has been used to make more consistent and realistic eyes for Atlantic salmon fly patterns rather than trying to paint eyes. Due to the protection of the bird, these feathers are only available as artificial, laser printed sheets today. However, the eye component is one of the most realistic products available. Printed eyes, doll eyes, Hareline melted mono eyes, living eyes, Fish Skull Fish Masks which have embedded eyes and Stoneflo Fish Head with Eyes all provided a more realistic eye by simply applying with a touch of super glue.
Feather and feather stems have been used for centuries as fragile appendages of antennae, legs and claws, adding realism even on very durable flies. Today, there is a mix of pre-stripped hackle stems, Rainy’s Knotted Hopper Legs, Hareline Cohen’s Frog Legs and for high float capabilities, River Road Cutters (RRC) foam cutters for claws, hopper legs and wing shapes.
The ultimate manufactured products that create realism is the J:Son line of realistic adult mayfly, caddis and stonefly wings with veins and nymph legs in sets of six with proportioned segments. J:Son advertising touts durability that perfectly mimics Mother Nature. Another example is Cabela’s Stonefly Nymph Kit which provides a realistic wingcase, legs and head with a size, shape, color (with a little marker touch-up) and texture. Rex Wilson is a local tyer in Waynesville that has a passion for these fly patterns.
Synthetic materials and adhesives have technically evolved to provide more realism as well. Hard to use Epoxy is still used to create clear shiny finishes. However, easy to use UV resins are now the rage. UV materials have become popular to make colors more realistic for the fish as this wavelength is visible to them but not to the angler. To achieve greater realism the variety of colors in any material along with the permanent finishes, bedded realistic patterns and engineered textures literally allow the fly tyer to substitute hard to get natural materials for more durable synthetic materials in many cases. Some example material product lines include: Enrico Puglisi (EP), Rainy’s, Chocklett’s, Hareline, Stonflo and SLF.
All of the above material selections and mentioned tools allow the fly tyer to either add realism to a more durable fly for the fly box or create a work of art, a realistic fly.
Burnt-Wing Extended Body Green Drake
Rex’s Realistic Stonefly Nymph
J:Son Adult Caddis
Helmeted Sculpin
Fly of the Month 01.21
Tom Adams and Alen Baker
Realistic Stonefly Recipe and directions
Hook : Streamer 4x with length to match supplies
Thread : Brown, Black or Tan to match pattern
Tail: Goose Biots to match pattern
Abdomen : material Profisher Trout pattern plus lead free wire sized to the hook
Wings : material Profisher Trout pattern
Thorax Dub : Golden Tan to match pattern
Directions :
When you grabbed a few recommended flies at the fly shop, you may have noticed that the flies appear to either be an attractor fly pattern or suggestive fly pattern. An attractor fly is designed to get the instinctive or territorial attention of the fish, is typically composed of bright colors and may appear to be an extreme version of the intended fish food. Examples include a Chernobyl Ant as well as the Royal Wulff which imitates an upright and divided winged mayfly yet has a bright royal red band on the body that seems to readily attract fish. A suggestive fly is designed to somewhat match the size, shape, colors, textures and/or actions of the fish food an angler believes present at that time or during a “hatch”. Examples include exact color matching Catskill style flies like the Quill Gordon and March Brown as well as tail dunking emergers and wing cased nymphs which have the shape and color of the fish food imitated.
Realistic Flies
There is a third category of fly patterns which is a more precise case of imitating the fish food. A realistic fly pattern attempts to precisely imitate the size, shape and colors of the fish food. One could logically conclude that there is an imitation continuum from fly patterns that attract and may even look nothing like the fish food to suggestive fly patterns to an exact, artificial duplicate or realistic fly pattern.
Many realistic flies are created as a work of art rather than a fishable fly pattern. The early attempts to create realistic, fishable flies utilized wing burners for mayfly, caddis and stonefly wing shapes. Artistic fly tyers could cut wing shapes but the burners provided a highly consistent shape and size. Burnt winged and cut winged fly patterns may be considered art but are also durable, highly usable flies for matching the hatch. Today, burnt wings remain to be a proven technology along with Pro Caddis Wings and River Road Creations (RRC) foam wing cutters.
As technology has provided a means to manufacture components that are real in appearance and texture, realistic fly patterns are becoming a third major category of fly patterns in the anglers fly box. For example, some of the early manufactured components were made from cast metal (non-toxic lead substitute) such as Hareline scud/shrimp bodies, Fish Skull shrimp and cray(fish) tails. These fly patterns can use weight to sink better, so why not have more realism built into the fly pattern as weight. Tails and humps are easy, inexpensive casts to make, breaking new ground for realistic fly components that are both inexpensive and handy to use. Modern metal products include: Fish Skull nymph head, shaped precisely with eyes and mouth and Fish Skull sculpin helmet which looks exactly like a sculpin head. These components are a bit pricey but take realism to a whole new level.
Realistic tail components include:Fish Skull Frantic Fish Tails, Microfibbets for stiff, split mayfly tails and Kelly’s Damsel tails. Realistic bodies include: Crawbody which provide a realistic overbody body appearance with claws, Creature Hellgrammite bodies which provides realistic gills and legs, Pro Grammarus (Caddis) Shells which provide a realistic body appearance and Pro 3-D Shrimp Shells which also provide a realistic body appearance. Newer products are appearing along side stripped quill stems that have been used for centuries to give a more realistic ribbed body. For example, Hareline Tapered Quill printed sheets and Semperfi Perfect Quill printed sheets for realistic ribbed bodies leverage permanent lazer printing technology. Biots are used as a means for realistic ribbed-body of very small fly patterns such as BWOs and Sulphurs that work extremely well on the South Holston River during a hatch. Other examples include: Larva Lace which may be filled with a liquid to achieve a realistic transparency much like actual nymphs and finally micro Chenille or Vernille for worms. Need I say more about realistic bodies.
Jungle Cock has been used to make more consistent and realistic eyes for Atlantic salmon fly patterns rather than trying to paint eyes. Due to the protection of the bird, these feathers are only available as artificial, laser printed sheets today. However, the eye component is one of the most realistic products available. Printed eyes, doll eyes, Hareline melted mono eyes, living eyes, Fish Skull Fish Masks which have embedded eyes and Stoneflo Fish Head with Eyes all provided a more realistic eye by simply applying with a touch of super glue.
Feather and feather stems have been used for centuries as fragile appendages of antennae, legs and claws, adding realism even on very durable flies. Today, there is a mix of pre-stripped hackle stems, Rainy’s Knotted Hopper Legs, Hareline Cohen’s Frog Legs and for high float capabilities, River Road Cutters (RRC) foam cutters for claws, hopper legs and wing shapes.
The ultimate manufactured products that create realism is the J:Son line of realistic adult mayfly, caddis and stonefly wings with veins and nymph legs in sets of six with proportioned segments. J:Son advertising touts durability that perfectly mimics Mother Nature. Another example is Cabela’s Stonefly Nymph Kit which provides a realistic wingcase, legs and head with a size, shape, color (with a little marker touch-up) and texture. Rex Wilson is a local tyer in Waynesville that has a passion for these fly patterns.
Synthetic materials and adhesives have technically evolved to provide more realism as well. Hard to use Epoxy is still used to create clear shiny finishes. However, easy to use UV resins are now the rage. UV materials have become popular to make colors more realistic for the fish as this wavelength is visible to them but not to the angler. To achieve greater realism the variety of colors in any material along with the permanent finishes, bedded realistic patterns and engineered textures literally allow the fly tyer to substitute hard to get natural materials for more durable synthetic materials in many cases. Some example material product lines include: Enrico Puglisi (EP), Rainy’s, Chocklett’s, Hareline, Stonflo and SLF.
All of the above material selections and mentioned tools allow the fly tyer to either add realism to a more durable fly for the fly box or create a work of art, a realistic fly.
Burnt-Wing Extended Body Green Drake
Rex’s Realistic Stonefly Nymph
J:Son Adult Caddis
Helmeted Sculpin
Fly of the Month 01.21
Tom Adams and Alen Baker
Realistic Stonefly Recipe and directions
Hook : Streamer 4x with length to match supplies
Thread : Brown, Black or Tan to match pattern
Tail: Goose Biots to match pattern
Abdomen : material Profisher Trout pattern plus lead free wire sized to the hook
Wings : material Profisher Trout pattern
Thorax Dub : Golden Tan to match pattern
Directions :
- Debarb and mount hook. Tie in thread and advance to the hook bend. Let the bobbin hang.
- Select two goose biots and strip from the stem. Match the tips and have the curves of the biots face away from each other. Insert the tips from underneath the hook shank and tie in with about one half the shank in length for the biots . One per side and tips even and bound in on each side of the shank. Trim the waste biot and bring the thread to the tie in point at the hook bend and let the bobbin hang.
- Wrap ten or twelve wraps of lead free wire in tight touching turns to form the abdomen. Trim away the waste and use the thread to form a small dam at the front and back of the lead free wraps. Leave the thread at the hook bend and let the bobbin hang.
- Use pliers to “mash” the lead free wire on the top and bottom only. This will make the round shape flat to resemble the stone’s not round abdomen.
- Tie in the abdomen ribbing material and set aside. Dub the thread with a light amount of dubbing and make wraps to cover the lead free wraps. Let the bobbin hang
- Advance the abdomen ribbing material in tight slightly overlapping turns to the thread and secure. Trim the waste material and let the bobbin hang
- Dub a length of thread to cover about one third of the thorax in enough dubbing to even to the abdomen in thickness. Let the bobbin hang.
- Select the first section of wing case and tie in immediately in front of the abdomen.
- Dub the next third and repeat the step above.
- Dub the last third and tie in two biots to form the antennae and then tie in the last section of wing case. Trim the waste biot and any other materials.
- Whip finish and cut the thread.