"Stonecats"

[Dave_W]

Old time anglers on the Susquehanna or Potomac Rivers are well aware of the effectiveness of "stonecats" as bait for smallmouth bass. In fact, these elusive little fish are marginated madtoms. We've had some discussion of this in past threads (please don't refresh old threads).

Here's a chapter illustration I did of marginated madtoms and my favorite fly I designed to imitate them. This fly is a go-to of mine for river smallies in the clear conditions common in late summer and fall.

 

[jifigz]

I have fond memories of being a kid and wading the Juniata River and fishing live bait. We would stash our stuff on the shore or an island, tie our Frabill Flow-Troll buckets to our pants or waists, and then start flipping rocks in search of stonecats. We would happily take stonecats, soft shell crabs, or hellgies. An easier way to catch hellgies is with a kick net in the riffles, though.

The simple things in life....

 

[troutbert]

What's a good (and hopefully simple) stonecat pattern?

 

[afishinado]

What's a good (and hopefully simple) stonecat pattern?

Here's one a posted a while back >

Post in thread 'hellgramite fly'

Jul 9, 2023

Here are two smallies flies I like to use >

The Stonecat is all zonker strip with a Fish-Skull. Tie in a zonker strip in the rear of the hook and wind the zonker around the shank towards the eye. Slip on the Fish-Skull. I use epoxy to secure the head and tie in a thread dam just behind the eye. I form the tail by applying some Sally Hansens to the end of the tail and pressing flat.

The Hellgrammite is tied the same way. Tie in a zonker strip for the rear of the fly. Cut a strip of thin leather and tie it in on top of the shank. Tie in uand wind tan chenille to cover the shank. Tie in...

• afishinado

• 

 

[TimMurphy]

What's a good (and hopefully simple) stonecat pattern?

Dear troutbert,

Try a wool head sculpin tied Clouser style. I tie them in olive, brown, black and tan. Just tie in lead eyes like you are tying a Clouser. Loop dub a wool head, build a yarn body, and tie in a Zonker strip. You can add pheasant breast feathers for fins if you want to.

Dave W's fly looks fantastic, but I'd be disappointed if I lost that beauty to a snag. 😉

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[troutbert]

Thanks for the nice stonecat patterns.

Watch is the approximate catch ratio of using real stonecasts to imitation stonecats?

 

[Broodstock]

I would imagine that browns like to eat these too in the more marginal waters.

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

I have fond memories of being a kid and wading the Juniata River and fishing live bait. We would stash our stuff on the shore or an island, tie our Frabill Flow-Troll buckets to our pants or waists, and then start flipping rocks in search of stonecats. We would happily take stonecats, soft shell crabs, or hellgies. An easier way to catch hellgies is with a kick net in the riffles, though.

The simple things in life....

Crawdads and little catfish kept me busy the whole week we stayed in a cabin on the J (50+ years ago?). My older sister even learned how to ride the current between the RR bridge trestles - I was too scared to try it. We made a pet out of a carp that my dad caught and tied off with about 100 yards of heavy fishing line. Dad fished the line through the gills and tied the other end to a log onshore. By the end of the week, it was tame enough to swim to us and was released none-the-worse for wear. Dad saved the line for future use since he refused to waste anything.