By Gaeron Friedrichs (gaeronf)
As we all know, winter is here. To me, it sure doesn’t feel like it. There’s no snow at all. But since its winter, it’s time to go to the winter flies. When someone says winter flies, I typically think big stoneflies, or little midges. Here I’m going to show you a pattern I developed. The Goldilocks Stonefly is a golden stonefly representation. Keep in mind, this isn’t just a winter fly, it can be used year round, but it is a super effective fly in the winter. It incorporates some great realistic and attractive aspects. For example, the use of rubber legs and Australian Possum give the fly superior movement. Typically you want stones to be super heavy. I use a tungsten bead on this fly, along with a great deal of lead (or lead free) wire. This is due to the fact that the abdomen, legs, and thorax is all natural material. As some of you may or may not know some natural furs, like hare’s ear and possum, will decrease the sink rate of a fly. That’s why we balance the fly out with the extreme weighting. Like I said before, the rubber legs (used for tails and antennae) will give the fly great movement, and the fly will breathe great with all the natural materials. The back will give the fly a little contrast and flash, and the thick rib gives a distinct ribbing. The hook I love to use is a Skalka Streamer hook. This hook is super strong, and has a ridiculous point. So first, let’s look at the exact recipe:
Goldilocks Stone
Hook-Skalka Streamer Hook size 6
Bead-Matching Gold Tungsten Bead
Additional Weight-A large portion of lead wraps. Used here is .025. Be as liberal or as stingy as you wish
Thread-Golden Stonefly colored Danville’s Flat Waxed Nylon
Tails and Antennae-Gold or yellow rubber legs. Round or square doesn’t matter. Barring optional.
Rib-Brown, Copper, or Amber colored MEDIUM UTC wire
Abdomen-Australian Possum/Icelandic Sheep Golden Stone Blend
Abdomen Cover-1 strand of wide Mylar tinsel
Thorax- Australian Possum/Icelandic Sheep Golden Stone Blend
Thorax Cover-2 strands of wide Mylar tinsel
Additional Materials-Brown and Black Sharpie
Read detailed instructions
here.