Kaufmann Stoneflies help!
What are you guys using to build up the body of a kaufmann stone fly? My flies are seriously lacking some bulk, and the ones that do have bulk, are closing the gap of the hook?
I've been using the TMC 200R hooks, with that nice curvature to them. Is this wrong?
Are you guys using lead wire and doubling/tripling up on the wraps to create a nice tapered weighted body?
Any tips on tying these suckers would be greatly appreciated!
Alive without breath,
As cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking.
- Riddle
check out this excellent charlie craven tutorial
http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/fly...fm?parentID=83
I particularly enjoyed step #45 !!
The fish are always right.
In the past, I have used chenille to bulk up the body and then dubbed over the top of that.
Thank you! I guess I just wasn't using enough dubbing?
Alive without breath,
As cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking.
- Riddle
That's a lot of steps to get caught in the trees behind you!!
Trouts don't live in ugly places.
A friend is not who knows you the longest, but the one who came and never left your side.
Don't look back, we ain't goin' that way.
As much as I like Kaufmann stones, that's the reason I don't tie them anymore. A good old "Big Ugly" Rubberlegs has done the trick and caught a lot of fish, three steps: Weighted wire, tie on legs and antennae, wrap chenille body - done.Originally Posted by Betty Hiner
That's a lot of steps to get caught in the trees behind you!!
Kelly.
Tight Lines,
Kelly.
"There will be days when the fishing is better than one's most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home."
Roderick Haig-Brown, "Fisherman's Spring"
Shakeyfly,
Two 'keys' to this fly for me...the lead layed on either side of the hook shank..widens out the body without adding 'depth'. And I use tape instead of a spray to set the wing slips..faster..you don't have to wait for the featehr to dry.
Use a different hook...the 200R may have a nice 'shape', but it has very narrow gape for it's length. This is a bulky fly...you need a streamer hook, 3X to 4X long with a normal sized gape.
As for the number of steps...this isn't a hard fly to tie, nor are there even close to 45 steps..the 'tutorial' posted just showed lots of 'pictures' and labeled them as 'steps'.
I still prefer the Brookes Stone, though...catches the same fish and MUCH easier to tie...
Buddy
It Just Doesn't Matter....
Thanks guys!! I just started tying a year ago, lost my last Kaufmann's and wanted to start tying my own. The first few were just too skinny or too soft when I tried to build up a dubbed body. then I tried stacking the lead but I kept closing the gap which got me nervous.
Keep the suggestions coming please! I'm finding all the information extremely useful.
Alive without breath,
As cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking.
- Riddle
Of course Charlie's Kaufmann Stone is only a matter or 45 pics !! And very well done, I might add. And it is probably a great fly to tie to learn a lot about fly tying, in addition to catching some fishies.
On the other hand, the Brooks Stone is a much simpler fly to tie and very effective from what I have heard, and the Rubber Legs Stonefly Nymph ( which Kelly likes to call the "Big Ugly" ) is even simpler to tie and VERY EFFECTIVE from my experience with it.
The thing about the Brooks Stone and the Rubber Legs ( for all practical purposes ) is that they are tied "in the round" as Brooks called it. His point was that a fish sees nymphs from various angles / views so any fly that looks like "a" view of a nymph that a fish might have should be an effective fly. So a fly that is tied "in the round" in a way that represents or imitates "a" view of a nymph in the system you are fishing will always catch fish.
Not exactly on your topic, Shakeyfly, but just something you might want to keep in mind. Most of the nymphs I tie are based on Brooks "in the round" theory, although they may not be quite as clearly in the round as his stonefly. Makes for simpler and very durable and effective nymph patterns.
John
P.S. IF I were going to take the time to tie a Kaufmann's Stone, I would probably use large chenile for the body, and make multiple layers rather than dub over - kind of like orthoman's approach but without the dubbing. Also, the fellow who first supplied me with Brooks Stones used yarn for the body. I think you could use it to build up the body on the Kaufmann's Stone, also.
P.S. 2 I always wonder if the Rubber Legs Stonefly Nymph gets taken as a worm as much as it does as a stonefly nymph. Hmmmmmmm ......
The fish are always right.
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