Stone Fly Critic Needed

[flyfishingNZ]

Hi Guys,

I have never used a stone fly dry/nymph before so I decided to not only tie my first stone flies but also to do my first weaved fly.

Not sure how they will fish, but the one I tied looked OK; a bit leggy as I used hackle.

Hook - TMC 5262 size 6
Antenna and Cercus - Tungsten stretch lace
Abdomen - Two shades of brown cotton for embroidery (Micheal's)
Body - Hare dubbing
Legs - Grey Hackle
Wing Casing - Turkey feather coated with liquid nail

 

[troutslammer]

i think brown goose biots work good for antennae and natural hares dubbing for the body , brown hackle for the legs , mottled turkey for the wing case for the brown stones , black goose biots and black dubbing for the body on the black stones but whatever works

 

[govtmule]

purrty flies!.....tungsten stretch lace? never heard of it...sounds cool.

 

[flyfishingNZ]

The lace I brought with me from NZ...It is basically elastic that is impregnated with tungsten powder. I have used it in the pass to add weight to nymphs that I want to have slim bodies and fast sinking.

 

[FrequentTyer]

That's a nice looking fly! Is the underside a different shade from the weave? I've never tied a weave but have been thinking about it so I would be interested to hear more about how you did it and if you found it difficult.
Mike.

 

[flipnfly]

i think it looks fishable the legs and thorax look a bit off color i would have used a soft mottled hen phesant or partridge but the body looks really good has nice shape to it for referances to the naturals i use www.troutnut.com just dont be too afraid of all the latin

 

[Fishidiot]

Looks good.
I'd suggest maybe a darker hackle more in keeping with the color of the abdomen. Maybe tie a few fewer turns of hackle and use a bit more more dubbing for the thorax and pick the fur out a bit. I tend to to like to tie my stonefly nymphs with a fat head (a dark colored bead works well for this). If you look at stonefly nymphs, they're flat with rather wide heads.

 

[flyfishingNZ]

So the weave I did is the easier of the two that I know of (I was using two different brown tones, but the photo does not show it up, the top is lighter than the bottom).

http://www.onlineflytyer.com/article_weaving.asp

I have done the shuffle weave as well, but I find it a lot harder to keep tension on the treads.

http://www.flyguysoutfitting.com/wovenpolishnymph.html

I would agree the thorax colors are off and that is mainly due to the lack of my color range at the moment. I do think trying the hackle and then going through with dubbing (or interchanging them) will break up the legs better and give it a better look. I was thinking about a bead head, but I am not sure if I have any in that size around the place. A big ball of black antron might have to be used for now.

 

[osprey]

flyfishingNZ...........nice looking fly , as far as critic needed , i can't see anything to criticize , that tungsten lace looks interesting. Before you change anything try that one out. I'll bet it will work just fine.

 

[gentleshepherd]

Here's a link to purchase the stretch Tungsten in the US

http://www.feather-craft.com/wecs.php?store=feacraft&action=display&target=TJ021

 

[PennKev]

Darker legs and wingcase would probably be more natural. Not many grey and brown stones out there.

 

[afishinado]

flyfishingNZ wrote:

I would agree the thorax colors are off and that is mainly due to the lack of my color range at the moment....

NZ,

Do they have "Sharpies" downunder in New Zealand?...Wally World has them here! ;-)

There's really no need to buy every color of ever fly tying material under the sun. I buy the colors I use most and also buy lighter colors (white). A permanent marker does the rest. Most material take markers well and often it looks better when touched up with the marker.