"Silly Suzy Stonefly" Picture Tutorial
This is a nice little stonefly pattern I tie for winter steelhead. I tend to fish this fly primarily in high water or even better yet, when there is some discoloration or staining. Its bright, gives off a bit of flash but isn't as gaudy as some of the other stuff being thrown at them. I tie this is several other colors always keeping the body black and matching the dubbing ball at the back with the bead at the front. My primary colors are pink and chartreuse.
NOTE: this pattern is a Get Em Wet original, please give credit where credit is due
Hook: TMC 7999 #12
Bead: 5/32 Pink
Thread1: Danville's Waxed Thread - Pink
Thread2: UTC 70 Ultra Thread - Black
Tag: Ice Dub - UV Pink
Tail: Goose Biots - Black
Underbody: Lead or Ultra Wire - Medium Black
Abdomen: Whitlock SLF Dubbing - #15 Dark Stone Nymph
Rib: VRib Medium - Black
Shellcase: Thin Skin - Mottled Turkey
Thorax: Whitlock SLF Dubbing - #15 Dark Stone Nymph
Legs: Hen Back - Black
Start your pink thread on the shank and wrap back to the bend. I like to build up a thick thread base at the back because when we add some UV dubbing the black color of the hook tends to bleed through, so putting it on thick prevents that.
Take a small amount of UV dubbing and create a dubbing ball or egg sack if you will right where the hook bends. This just gives the fly a little extra mojo and makes the tails lay on nicely.
Lay down a goose biot on each side of the shank and tie them in tight, trim off the excess and you're ready for the next step.
Take your ribbing material and tie it in with the flat side against the shank. I like to tie it in directly on the bottom of the shank because it makes it easier when you begin to wrap it forward.
Create a dubbing rope and start dubbing a nice tapered body forward to where you want your thorax to start, if you would like you can keep going all the way to the bead, its probably preferred this is just the way I have always done it.
Wrap your rib forward to where the thorax will begin. Leave small spaces between each wrap to allow some of the buggy dubbing to escape through the wraps. You can pick some out if you like.
Tie in a Thin Skin shellback and dub the rest of the way if you have not done so already. Make sure to leave a small space between the dubbing and the bead to leave you some finishing room at the end.
At this point I will tie in a set of legs using TWO separate VCut hen back feathers directly on top of one another to give the fly some more bulk. This step is repeated again later for a total of two sets of legs, using four hen back feathers.
Fold the shellback over the first set of legs you just tied in and secure it down. This is where you tie in your second set of legs. Tie them in directly ahead of where you secured the shellback.
Once you've tied your next set of legs down, fold the shellback back over them and trim it off half the length of the total shellback length to give the appearance of two wing pads. Create a small dubbing rope and finish dubbing the fly in front of all the other materials. Whip finish and you're done!
Finished Fly
Beautiful Fly!
ReplyDeleteThank You!
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ReplyDeleteThose hot colors make good winter time trout flies too. Good-looking pattern
An excellent looking fly, one I'll be sure to try, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cam!
ReplyDeleteI guess simple and effective! Congrats
ReplyDeleteThere aren't many steelhead in N. GA and SE. TN but I bet this would do well for the native brookies.
ReplyDeleteOh man I bet it would. It works here for brookies when the water is high. I just tie it a little smaller
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