Stimulators

[Baron]

I'm sorry to hog this board but I really appreciate your help. Besides the Parachute Adams the Stimulator or its variant Yellow Sally is the other fly I need to learn for the up-coming trip to Wyo. I see that they are offered up to size 6. I was thinking 10 and 14. While they are used as dries in Wyo I use them as slow sinking Panfish flies around the Poconos.
What sizes do you recommend.

 

[Dave_W]

Stimulators are designed to be fished as dry flies and are generally tied on the large size (by trout standards).

For WY I'd have 'em in size #12 and 10 and on a shank length that matches up well with a fly that has a total length of between about 1 and 1.5 inches.

 

[PennKev]

The best stimulator is a Chubby Chernobyl.

Dave's size recommendations carry over to Chubbies.

 

[dc410]

My overall favorite size for a stimulator is a size 10. I find them very challenging to tie in anything less than 12. I like to tie them on a 3XL curved shank hook because I think the proportions are right on that hook. Aside from tying the traditional deer hair stimmies, lately I have been tying a more synthetic version of the fly also for a planned trip to MT this summer to be fished solely as a terrestrial type of pattern.

My synthetic version uses:
tail - red krystal flash
abdomen - palmered strip of yellow 2mm foam
abdomen hackle - cree
wing - E.P. trigger point fibers - dark dun
thorax - yellowish/orange dubbing
thorax hackle - grizzley
thread - hot orange (I like Veevus 8/0)

This is the first I ever tried a foam bodied stimulator but I like the concept and I think having some different styles and colors of flies could be beneficial on the trip out west.

 

[troutbert]

Baron wrote:
I'm sorry to hog this board but I really appreciate your help. Besides the Parachute Adams the Stimulator or its variant Yellow Sally is the other fly I need to learn for the up-coming trip to Wyo. I see that they are offered up to size 6. I was thinking 10 and 14. While they are used as dries in Wyo I use them as slow sinking Panfish flies around the Poconos.
What sizes do you recommend.

Stimmies originated to imitate stoneflies, which range in size from very small to the giant "Salmon Flies" which are about the size of your thumb.

On a trip to Colorada, my buddy and I both bought a Stimulator box at a fly shop. They had a decent price on a box of them. The sizes went from #16 up to about #8.

The ones we caught the most fish on were #14 and 12.

But if you are somewhere with big stoneflies and/or when the water is up, off color, fast flowing, choppy, you'll want big dry flies.

 

[Tiogadog]

PennKev wrote:
The best stimulator is a Chubby Chernobyl.

Dave's size recommendations carry over to Chubbies.

This....

 

[Tigereye]

Stimulators can reperesent a host if critters. I believe they were first tied to represent a salmon fly (stone fly). I may be mistaken, often am. Change colors and size and they can be grass hoppers, large caddis, a minnow if sunk and stripped in. And this year, a black one with orange body hackle, and crystal flash wing is going to be a cicada.

The beauty of fly tying is you can adapt fly size and color to meet yourneed.

 

[Baron]

Tigereye, see all those comments above? They are all correct, depending on the viewpoint, I guess. I already have the Chubbies left-over from last year so I don't need to tie them. On this forum I've often hear that the Stimmie is very significant and flexible in its dressing and habits and ability to catch fish. So that is why I want to learn it......its a investment.
The guy at AA outfitters in Blakesley set me up for tying this on a bent shank #10 Umpqua.
He also set me up to tie Parachute Adams in size 14

DC410, would love some photos.

Baron wrote:
I'm sorry to hog this board but I really appreciate your help. Besides the Parachute Adams the Stimulator or its variant Yellow Sally is the other fly I need to learn for the up-coming trip to Wyo. I see that they are offered up to size 6. I was thinking 10 and 14. While they are used as dries in Wyo I use them as slow sinking Panfish flies around the Poconos.
What sizes do you recommend.

 

[dc410]

I'm not very good at posting photos on the forum anymore, but I'm attempting to attach a photo of my foam body stimulator. Looks like I overdid it on the resizing?

 

[Baron]

I was thinking of foam. Do the fish care?

 

[dc410]

I apologize, for the poor image. The abdomen is a palmered strip of 2mm yellow craft foam. Do the fish care about what?

 

[Baron]

Your image is fine, honestly, I just wondered if your hookups stayed the same after you switched to foam rather than traditional.

 

[dc410]

The jury is still out on that one. This is the first that I dabbled in a foam bodied stimmie, haven’t fished it yet.

 

[Baron]

I like winding foam. Let us know.

 

[Baron]

This is todays best rendition. When you see it do you say 'Yellow Sally' or do you say 'what is that'?
Pointers welcome.

 

[afishinado]

Baron wrote:
This is todays best rendition. When you see it do you say 'Yellow Sally' or do you say 'what is that'?
Pointers welcome.

When I first started to fly fish, I borrowed and later bought books with many different fly patterns. Later on, with more experience on the water, my focus shifted to imitating the actual insects and not just tying the 1000's of fly patterns.

When I look to tie for a FFing trip, I do research to learn what type of insects are present at the place and time I plan to fish and tie according. While I do have with me some attractor flies and generic flies like the adams and stimmies, I also tie some hatch-matching patterns for the trip.

FYI, the pic below is an actual yellow sally insect >

 

[Baron]

AFish that can't be a Yellow Sally in your photo. Theres no wire and no Hackle. And it has legs, lol. No I'm Sorry, that is not a Yellow Sally

 

[Baron]

The Yellow Sally had been the most popular along with the Purple haze. Are you saying these are called 'Attractor flies'? Interesting. I was surprised to see wire in the recipe. I also caught trout on typical food items like hares ear and midges.
The item I received the most attention with was Ants. This was on the Green.

 

[JerryC]

The Yellow Sallies I've run into up in Vermont have been in the size 14 to 16 range. I don't mess with Stimulators when I get down to that size. This is the fly I use for small stoneflies.
Body: wrapped CDC feather, think CDC and Elk
Egg Sac(optional): wrapped CDC feather
Wing: thin sparkle material
Hackle: Wrapped color to match fly.
I don't have a picture of a Yellow Sally. This one is a Little Black Stone fly with an egg sack.

 

[JerryC]

Forgot to upload picture