Golden Stone
Golden stoneflies are the most widespread large stonefly across the West, and their midsummer hatch precedes or overlaps with Salmonflies on most rivers. The Golden Stone dry fly — yellow or amber bodied with elk hair — brings up large fish throughout July. Fish it in fast, broken runs along the bank where egg-laying females skitter across the surface.
- Type
- dry fly (Stonefly)
- Hook sizes
- #6–10
- Target species
- trout
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Best seasons
- summer
Materials
- hook: 3X long dry fly hook #6–10
- thread: Yellow 6/0
- tail: Tan or amber elk hair
- body: Yellow or amber Antron or foam
- body hackle: Ginger rooster hackle palmered over body
- wing: Tan elk hair
Tying steps
- Mount a size 6–10 3XL hook; start yellow thread and tie in a tan elk hair tail at bend.
- Tie in a ginger palmered hackle and fine gold wire at the rear.
- Dub a yellow or amber Antron or foam body to the 2/3 mark.
- Palmer the hackle forward; counter-wrap gold wire over it.
- Tie in a bunch of tan elk hair flat over the body as the wing.
- Dub a yellow thorax ahead of the wing.
- Wind grizzly hackle over the thorax; build head and whip finish.
- Apply UV resin over the thread head only and cure — the reinforced head will resist the teeth and abrasion of large stonefly-feeding trout.