Stone Nymph Pattern

[littlelehigh]

Hey guys,
I was searching the internet for a good stone nymph pattern but everything I found was contradicting. One was dubbed with guard hairs sticking out all over the other version used Lava Lace which one works best in Pa. Any links you guys know of would be great or how you tie yours would be even better if you don't mind "secretly" sharing with a PM. Also how important are the wings and which do you prefer 0, 1, 2 or 3. Oh I'm so Confused! and lead wrap or beadhead. I'm fishing Allentown area incase you need that info. Any suggestions or recommendation would be great since this coming front is gonna have me in the house all weekend!

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Here's my current favorite - talk about a cheap tie!

Inner tube stonefly

A co-worker of mine showed me this, but he modified the pattern by using only two legs on each side made from round rubber, as well as using the round legs for the antennae and legs. A good, cheap source of round rubber legs is to use string silencer rubber from an archery shop - nice, small legging material and it's dirt cheap.

This has been deadly for me so far...

 

[Fishidiot]

little,
Stonefly nymph patterns are, in the view of many nymphers, very good examples of impressionistic flies - in other words, they can be imitated well with a variety of tying methods that produce an effective, basic impression of the nymph. Stonefly nymphs are a favorite of tyers who like to create ultra realistic flies but this level of realism isn't necessary to catch fish. Try tying a few with lead wrap and a few with bead heads and see which ones are easier or turn out more appealing to you - chances are, they'll catch trout with equal effectiveness. As for wing cases, you could probably omit them and the fly would still be good. Larva lace and similar plastics make a nice abdomen but try some fuzzy, light colored dubbing for the head/thorax area and pull it out for a leggy effect. I do like a "split tail" on my stonefly nymphs as this forked tail is, I think, a clear indicator of a stonefly nymph to trout. My tails are usually made of stripped hackle stems or biot quills. For PA, most stonefly nymphs I've seen average less than an inch long (including tail) so don't make 'em too big

 

[YoughRiverGuide]

Funny, the weather has me doing the same. I've done a lot of experimenting with this since stoneflies are a staple on the Yough. I used to tie super-realistic patterns, but given the time it it takes to tie them and the effectiveness of more suggestive patterns, I have gravitated towards patterns that take less time.

I do things like use nymph skin for a shell and wing case. With a rib of some kind, this gives a nice segmented look and eliminates the time it takes to tie in three separate wing pads. I like the segmented bodies achieved with foam but find they are not as durable as what I suggested above.

You don't have to use three individual segmented legs either. They are pretty, for sure, but one piece of rubber on each side tied in the style of a madame x and compounded with some buggy dubbing or even a loop dubbed thorax will provide more than enough movement and the trout won't mind.

As for weighting the flies, I typically have three diff weights in my box: unweighted, bead head, and lead wrap. This way you can fish them anywhere from skinny water right on the bank during an emergence to the deepest drop off or slot you come across without having to resort to a pound of split shot.

Hope this helps.