It’s almost Salmon Fly time in Montana.
This is my take on the nymph. Their life cycle includes three seasons as a nymph.
So these guys are present in Rocky Mountain rivers at all sizes and stages, at all times.
But the weeks leading up to the early June hatch (right now) is the time to fish the big ones.
… my computer, which has been giving me fits lately on following links, or your links, but I can’t get to the articles. Wondering if anyone else is having that problem ??
Both the flies look kind of like furled furry foam, or something similar, with some of the MFC winging material on the adult ?? Interesting approach, which ought to make for a high riding adult, although if it is furry foam for the nymph, how do you get and keep it down ??
We’re already getting reports of some adult salmonflies and golden stones over here on this side of the State. I saw a good number of golden stones about ten days ago on a small stream west of Missoula. I’ve been refining my own furled body salmonfly and golden stone adults the past couple days waiting for some nice sunny days to get them on the water.
John
P.S. Hope you don’t mind my clarifying one thing ?? The big stoneflies known as salmonflies have a life cycle of three years as nymphs. That means they are available to trouts and other fishies in various sizes year round.
Must be your computer.
I just re-tested in IE8, Firefox Chrome and Safari on Mac.
All those links worked for me.
Nymph:
the body is common polyurethane open-cell mattress foam, dyed brown with Rit dye.
It has a length of solid wire solder buried in the thorax. There is a bit of yellow dubbing
buried into the slit thorax too. I had that fly published in Fly Fisherman’s “Fly Tyer’s Bench”
in 1992, I think. Good fly. Been an early season mainstay for a long time.
Adult:
The body is 2lbs per cubic foot closed-cell EVA (ethel-vinyl-acetate) foam. That foam is very hard to get.
But Evazote is almost as good (Evazote is EVA foam too, but it is more like 3 or 4lbs per cubic foot density).
The wing is Shimakazi (I think) wing material, overlayed with a few strands of Zelon.
The body is wrapped in brown-dyed spawn sack netting and then dimpled with orange flat waxed nylon.
The Rubberlegs I got from a Walleye-oriented place in Minnesota. Lumiflex, or something like that.
It’s time for Salmon Flies on Rock Creek. Are they there yet?
This might interest them as well…
Interesting nymph concept. [u][b]
[/b][/u]It’s been going on out here for awhile now. Love the big bugs.
This one just came off the vice. It’s a revised and simplified version of the FEB Salmonfly that I dedicated to Jim Birkholm early June last year.
It will be submitted as a FOTW candidate in the next day or two.
John
P.S. Yes - there have been some adult salmonflies on Rock Creek, but I think the cloudy, wet, windy weather we have been having has kept them grounded. First nice, sunny warm day I will be over there giving this fly a test drive.
… I just found and tightened up a loose connection.
AND AM I GLAD I DID !!
That is one extraordinary site you have there, including but much beyond the two articles that you linked.
My hat is off to you, for the flies, the stories, and that picture of the George Grant “Black Jack Top” and the bug pics. I’ll be back in there on and off, for sure.
Thanks for starting this thread, and linking us up with so much past and present.
John
Now that’s what I call going rogue; very nice flies.
Regards,
Scott
