Little Yellow Sally
Yellow Sallies are small stoneflies that hatch abundantly from late spring through summer on both Eastern and Western streams. Fish often key on them exclusively during the hatch, and their small size demands a precise, delicate imitation. Fish the Little Yellow Sally on 5X tippet with gentle presentations. Particularly effective on streams with significant Isoperla populations from June through August.
- Type
- dry fly (Stonefly)
- Hook sizes
- #14–16
- Target species
- trout
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Best seasons
- spring, summer
Materials
- hook: Dry fly hook #14–16
- thread: Yellow 8/0
- body: Yellow or pale yellow dubbing
- wing: Pale yellow or cream elk hair
- hackle: Light ginger or cream hackle
Tying steps
- Mount a size 14–16 dry fly hook; start yellow thread and wrap to bend.
- Dub a pale yellow body from bend to the 3/4 mark.
- Stack a small bunch of pale yellow or cream elk hair; tie in as a tent wing at the 3/4 mark.
- Trim the wing butts to form a small head.
- Tie in a cream or ginger hackle; wind 3–4 turns and tie off.
- Build a small, neat head; whip finish and cement.
- Apply a thin coat of head cement to the thread wraps at the head and let dry completely.
- Inspect the hackle from below — trim any fibers that hang below the hook point so the fly lands correctly.
- Inspect the finished fly in profile — the hackle should radiate 360 degrees around the shank and extend one full body length past the hook eye.