anyone know a SIMPLE stonefly dry pattern? talked to a guy today who showed me a really simple looking pattern, it was basically some type of hackle and turkey feather for a wing. i'm looking for something along the lines of this...simple and effective. Can anyone share a recipe/provide links? I've only been tying for a couple months so try to keep it simple!

Cdc and Elk with black cdc. Simple

Assuming you're thinking about the "little" stoneflies - in other words the small black and brown stoneflies that are hatching this time of year(?).
Here's my basic dry fly pattern:

HOOK: #18 or 20

BODY: Black dub

HACKLE: Black or dark gray - palmered and trimmed on underside.

WING: Gray hackle tip tied in flat.

Although I normally prefer and recommend sparsely tied dries, in this case, make your hackle a bit on the thick side. Early stones are flutterers and fish often key on them when they're skating across the surface so you want a fly that can be skated and the thick hackle helps facilitate this.

Attach file:

---

  Little Stones.jpg (115.50 KB)

The simplest dry is nothing more than a black hackle wound from the hook bend forward to the eye. No joke, these things work incredibly well. They don't at all look like the real thing but it's not what you see it's what the fish sees.

Take one hackle (barbs extending just below the hook tip) and wind forward and tie off about 3-4 turns before the eye. Then tie on a slightly larger hackle and make 2-3 turns and tie off.

As FI said, these things flutter and skitter across the stream's surface and movement/life is generally the trigger for the trout to take. Because the fly is fully hackled and the eye rests higher than the rear, it rides high on the surface and is easy to skitter across the water without sinking it to create the skittering movement of the real bugs.

However, not all real bugs skitter 100% of the time and many times the bug will sit still on the water for a few seconds BUT the wings are still fluttering and this flutter, when viewed from underneath by the fish, appears as a blur and guess what, the wound hackle body creates the same blurry illusion of wing flutering.

It's all about creating the sight pattern that the fish sees and that's what this stupidly easly fly creates.

The henryville caddis in size 18 or so. I know it says "caddis" but trusts me it works and looks good too.

Tie an all black henryville special.

I was in Harrisburg the other day coming back to Dauphin and the stones were everywhere. I was driving up front street. They were smacking all over my windshield.

Did you grab a sample?

Quote:

In my experience here in the south central......little early stones are much more prevalent on warm water rivers than smaller trout streams. The densest emergence of little stones I've ever seen was on the Juniata River and the Susky around Harrisburg has some really thick stonefly hatches as well.
When I've been out prospecting for early spring bass and muskies the last few weeks, I have seen them thick on rivers. On trout streams around here I have seen much fewer of them this year. This is typical of what I've seen over the years.

I helped to float stock the neshannock last saturday with lunker trout from the fly shop, and they were everywhere...thats why i figured it would be beneficial to tie some up.

I've only even saw two trout rise to a black stonefly in my entire life and one was right after a stocking on the EB perk last year. I never thought they liked them that much.

I have never seen a trout rise to a early black stonefly.

yer fishing in the wrong places...

I agree that the early black stones excite the fishermen much more than the fish, most times.