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Fly Tying Terms

LIZZIE'S STONE

John Scott, Rigby ID - August 24, 2009

Golden stones keep coming up. While I was organizing for my next trip to Missoula, I realized that I didn't really have any in my fly box. I did quite well earlier in the year with the LF Golden Stone, but I was thinking of trying something a bit easier / quicker to tie.

Several years ago I fished the Clark's Salmonfly and the Clark's Golden Stone with some success. That is a classic pattern - effective, durable, simple. My kind of fly, but I also wanted to do something a bit different. As some of you may have noticed, I've really taken to furled extended bodies the past few months, so it probably is not surprising that I extended (pun intended) that concept to a variation on the Clark's Golden Stone.

I’ve only had the chance to fish this fly on the East Fork of the Bitterroot, the Lochsa River, Elizabeth Creek and the North Fork of the Clearwater, and Big Sheep Creek. On the East Fork, it turned a couple fish under really terrible fishing conditions. Got warmed up on the Lochsa with some bows and cutts, and then did very well on Elizabeth Creek and the North Fork for more bows and cutts, and finally on Big Sheep for some nice browns.

Once the fly proved itself under a variety of conditions and for the different trout species, which all came to the fly and ate it readily, I named it for and dedicated it to my good friend, Liz.  Thus the name, Lizzie’s Stone. 

Materials

materials

Method

Wrap a thread base to above the barb and then back to mid-shank of hook.

Furl the three strands of antron yarn together. Electrician’s clips make great furling tools. Twist the electrician’s clips in opposite directions four or five turns. When the antron wants to furl, hold both clips in one hand and pull on the center of the twisted antron releasing the tension on it at the same time.

Remove the F.E.B. from the clips and twist in the direction it furled. Tie in the furled antron extended body at mid-shank with the F.E.B. extending past the bend. I like to take several wraps over the F.E.B. forward of the tie in point, then a couple wraps in front of the F.E.B. and then a few more back toward the tie in point to make sure it is secured to the shank. Trim the tag ends of the F.E.B.

Tie in a sparse under wing of poly yarn.

Tie in the deer hair wing. Cut, comb, stack and trim the deer hair so it extends past the F.E.B. When tying it in, wrap through the trimmed butts a good number of times to secure it and make for a very durable wing.

At this point, tying in and wrapping peacock herl for a thorax is optional. Since the thorax is pretty well covered by the hackle and probably only adds weight, I’ve omitted it in this tying sequence.

Wrap the tying thread forward to about two eye lengths behind the eye. Tie in the dry fly hackle. Wrap the hackle back to the deer hair and then forward to just behind the eye. Tie off and finish the fly with a couple half hitches or whip finish. This technique of hackling seems to have solved a problem with the original fly, tied with hackle only wrapped forward from a tie in directly in front of the deer hair, propellering. (Credit to one of our outstanding SE Idaho fly tiers, Dr. Harley Reno, for bringing this hackling technique to my attention a while back) 

The finished fly, from the fly tier’s point of view.

And from the fishes’ point of view.

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