Clark’s Lady Stone Variant

Clark’s Lady Stone Variant

John Kreft – RiverKeeper Flies

Clark’s Lady Stone Variant is a fly can be used for any stonefly (e.g., Little Yellow Stone, Little Green Stone, Salmonfly). Coordinate the thread and body colour, changing the thread to match the underwing. Use Varigated Rust, Gold, Orange or Green underwings to match these flies. 

This fly is designed to sit low in the water. To help float the fly in faster water, add a extra turn or two of hackle.

Materials

  • Hook: Any 2XL dry fly hook, #8 – 10
  • Thread: Clear invisible thread and 14/0 orange
  • Tail: Orange or red golden pheasant tippet
  • Body: Silver Gold flat tinsel
  • Underwing: Orange, red or yellow poly yarn
  • Wing: X-caddis Deer hair
  • Hackle: Brown saddle
Top: finished yellow flies
Bottom: Red and Yellow stages before adding hackle

Tying Instructions

  1. Lightly coat hook with Sally Hansen. Begin tying the invisible thread behind hook eye and wrapping back to bend of hook to create a thread base on the hook shank. Wrap thread forward about 1/4 inch where tail will be secured.
  2. Use the middle section of golden pheasant tippet with the filaments attached to the feather shaft. The back of the tail should extend about 1/4 inch beyond the bend of hook.
  3. For durability, apply a small amount of Zap-a-Gap or Sally Hansen to the hook. Tie in flat tinsel at tail tie-in point and continue wrapping thread forward to a position 1/3 back from eye.
  4. Wrap tinsel forward with slightly overlapped wraps and secure with thread. Trim tinsel tag-end.
  5. Tie in combed poly yarn fibres 1/4 inch behind eye of hook. Yarn fibres should extend to black tip of golden pheasant tail material. The orange tippet with black tip will be visible to the fish. Trim tag end and form gentle taper with thread base.
  6. Change thread to 140 orange. Select a bundle of deer hair and remove underfur. Place the deer hair wing over poly yarn. Deer hair tips should extend 1/4 inch beyond poly yarn. Trim the butts to length at a 45 degree angle. Use light thread tension on first few wraps to prevent flaring the wing. Trim butts and use thread to form taper and base for hackle.
  7. Tie in saddle hackle and wrap to just behind the eye.
  8. Whip or half hitch finish. Drop of Sally Hansen.
  9. Cut notch in bottom of hackle to give the fly a lower profile.
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