Stimulator lands on side

[paflyfisher16]

i just recently tied some of these up in a size 8 and got to fish one for a few minutes last week, unfortunetly the fly kept landing on its side. I made the body hackle a little less than a hook gape and the front hackle just a little more. Am I using to much elk for the wing? When I drop the flies on my tying desk they seem to land properly, any help?

Thanks
Doug

[LadyFisher]

What are you using for a leader/tippet?

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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL

[paflyfisher16]

I cant remember it may have been some cut back 5x. Should i be going lighter or heavier?

Thanks
Doug

[sperzonkers2]

Doug, Sounds like your tippet. 5X is to light for a size 8 fly. You should use a 3X tippet at minium on a size 8 fly.

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Bill

[Peter F]

The tippet sounds like a good place to start.

I don't fish Stimulators, but with an EHC the problem can be solved sometimes by "spreading" the elk hair a bit more over the top 180 degrees of the hook. If you elk hair is in a tight bunch and sticking too high above the fly, it can't help but pull it over.

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Peter F
www.fishingwithflies.com
pfrailey@hotmail.com

General Rule of Thumb for determining the correct sized tippet in relationship to the hook size of the fly is, "Hook Size divided by 3!" If the hook size of your Stimulator is a size 8, divide by 3, and you get 2.66 which would be a 3X tippet.

If the fly pattern is gets waterlogged, you maybe should try a 2X tippet. ~Parnelli