Golden Stone Nymph

[William Anderson]

Lance, these are fantastic. they would definitely set the fins in motion, but just as important, they really speak to the thoughtfulness of your designs. Killer ties. That orange wool and hare dubbing is beautiful against the list of that hackle. Thanks for taking this thread to another level.

w

[tie2fish]

Lance ~ I think the pattern you posted on the 19th is the best of the lot. Although you expressed some concern in your e-mail that orange was too bright, I disagree ... based on photos of real nymphs I've seen, the colors on some of them are startlingly intense.

[hankaye]

gingerdun, Howdy;

Yep, like the second, but will stick to my statement about the first.
Both look as they are examples of what the finished product should
look like in a "How-to" manual.

hank

[letumgo]

Lance - I love the more muted tones of the second version. I would certainly fish both, but would likely reach for the second one for my initially drift. Well done.

[Roadkill]

gingerdun

They are all nice flies, I would let the fish do my preference testing. To start with I would put the second fly from the 18th on as a dropper with the first fly from the 19th about 18" lower on the point and see if the trout have any preference. I spend a great deal of time testing new fly variations against old proven patterns or just searching the waters with different flies for what will work when there isn't an obvious hatch on the water or there is a multiple emergence going on.

When it comes to tying the fish are my best critics and some times they really surprise me. Don't be surprised if you have on 2 fish on at the same time disagreeing about your best fly.

[Old Hat]

Bill, what fun is that? That takes away the need for all of our conjecture.

[Old Hat]

I came across this design today for a great heavy stonefly nymph.

It is certainly not a flymph but is tied in the round and uses soft hackle.

Go to this link and scroll down to the Depth Charge Nymph

http://oregonflyfishingblog.com

[gingerdun]

William, tie2fish, letumgo, and Hankaye, Nice to know that you are all as divided about the coloration as I am. Roadkill seems to think that the opinion of the fish matters, but from what I have observed, they are poor judges of good fly tying. And Old Hat, thanks for that link to the Depth Charge Nymph. That helped my education.

Bill tie2fish has generously been giving me some email tutoring (I'm a slow learner, but he's patient), and has posted his gorgeous version of this fly. Meanwhile, I went to the local tackle shop today and bought a brown grizzly hen neck, the one ingredient that I was missing. After too many rejects to count, I have just about given up. I thought working on #8 streamer hook would be a walk in the park, but I was mistaken. Here is my latest, with a hackle that is probably a bit too long. This fly is a tribute to Charlie Brooks, Polly Rosborough, and Pete Hidy.

Thanks again for your feedback and contributions.

Lance

Hook: Mustad streamer, size 8, R75-79580, 2XH–5XL
Silk: hot orange
Weight: .015 lead, short wrap over a long wrap for slight torpedo shape
Tail: pheasant tail barbs
Body: Spun body on tying silk (William's Clark block), with dubbing of mixed gold, brown, rust, and olive wool, cut in 3/8" lengths and blended in coffee grinder
Rib 1: dark brown wool, single ply
Rib 2: gold wire, medium, counter-wrapped
Hackle: brown grizzly hen

Does everybody know that you can zoom on this? Click on image, and then click and hold the lower right corner and drag it down to the right. This will zoom.

[tie2fish]

"Slow learner" you say? I don't think so. From never before to this wonderful pattern in less than week represents a very steep learning curve in my book. This is wonderful, Lance!

[Roadkill]

A killer fly and I think the fish will agree!