Fly of the Month

Fly of the Month by J. Stockard Pro Tyer, Justin Aldrich, Habersham County, Georgia. Justin can be found on Instagram.  My Gold Slaughter Stones have proven themselves throughout the U.S. and a few places out of country for about a year. This much weight on one fly pattern isn’t necessarily new, neither is this color scheme, but what’s seen here is the final product of much field testing and a new spin for this much weight and classic colors. I also want to suggest not excluding this pattern for tournament use. (4.0mm Tungsten bead min, limited lead wraps, etc.) If wanting this to be a legal tournament pattern just exclude the use of the second tungsten bead and use the 4.0mm alone. Slaughter Stone Golden Stone Fly Materials •Hook: Barbless 3x long Streamer.•Bead: Two Black Nickel Tungsten Countersunk beads. One 4.6mm and one 4.0mm. (Use whichever appropriate sized beads for the specific sized hook.)•Additional weight: .020 lead wraps.•Thread: Semperfli Classic Waxed thread. 8/0.•Wingcase: Black Scud Back. 1/8″.•Legs/Tail: MFC Centipede legs.•Thorax: Brown SLF and Pure Squirrel guard hair mix.•Body/Abdomen: Yellow Floss.•Rib: Med. Brown/Tan D-Rib.•UV RESIN: Semperfli No Tack.•Varnish: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails.•Cement: Loctite Superglue.(whatever drys clear.) Tying Steps •First slide the 4.6mm Tungsten bead on hook, then slide the second smaller 4.0mm on the shank starting with the bigger hole. This will allow the beads to stay flush together.•Seat the hook in vise.•Next wrap a few turns of .020 lead on the shank and jam the beads in place with it.•Afterwards, start your thread in back of the lead and wrap over the lead securing it in place.•Tie in the tail right behind the lead. Take a single piece of Centipede legs and catch it in just behind the lead wraps. Do this by catching the rubber leg in the middle of the single piece. Then grab both tag ends and fold backwards past the bend of the hook securing in the rubber leg on top of the shank and to the bend.•Tie in a piece of medium size D-Rib in the thorax area on the side of the shank away from you and secure down to the bend of the hook•Tie in a piece of your favorite yarn or thicker tying thread on the side of the shank closest to you just behind the lead wraps and secure in to the bend of the hook. (Feel free to just use your working thread to make your body.)•*Now finish building any necessary taper for the body with your working thread. Leave the thread in the Abdomen area waiting to catch in the yarn.*•(If using yarn.)Next start wrapping the yarn up building the body. Since the yarn is thicker it will help build the taper just like you did with the thread. Don’t be afraid to double back on your yarn if need be. When you get to the bead tie off the yarn and snip tag off close.•SUPERGLUE: Superglue the body yarn. This step is to increase durability in both yarn and D-Rib rib material. I like to use a superglue with a brush applicator but it’s just Tiers choice. Apply a generous amount of superglue to the yarn. While it’s still wet start to rib the body with the D-Rib in open turns until into the Thorax. Tie down and snip tag off close. •Tie in the Scud Back wingcase material down to just behind the beads.•Then tie a single piece of rubber leg on each side of the Thorax.•Dub a thick Thorax section making sure to cover the second bead and all thread wraps. Leave the thread just behind the bead.•Fold over the wingcase and tie down just behind the bead. Snip off tag end close.•Make a hotspot with a couple 3 turn whip finishes. Snip off thread close.•Using some “thick” U.V. Resin build up the wingcase a little bit covering both the scudback and the front bead.•Finally coat the body and wingcase in a thin cement or varnish.

I developed this Caddis pattern over many years of trial and error on The Neversink River in the southern Catskills of New York. It’s a low riding dry fly, as fish in these waters tend to prefer parachute style patterns or emergers that are fished in the film, but Caddis are the predominant food source.

A Christmas fly doesn’t get much better than a Royal Stimulator. So for the J.Stockard Fly of the Month for December of this year, we bring you a Royal Stimulator beautifully tied and photographed by John and Katie Demuth. Merry Christmas!

The Bunny Leech is a pattern that has been around for a long time. It wasn’t until I saw Pete’s (@Blueriverflies) Spawn Head version that it caught my interest and made me want to tie it and fish it. With any pattern, I love to over-complicate it and add more flash and materials. I really wanted to make this look even more minnow like by adding the white belly and speckled guinea, and who doesn’t like flash on a minnow.

Fly of the Month by J. Stockard Pro Tyer: Justin Aldrich, Haversham Co. GA  Put simply, local guide Daniel Massingale wanted a new-ish Yellow Sally pattern to bust some Wild Trout on. Admittedly this pattern isn't the "truest" of the Yellow Sally's out there, but we wanted it that way to give it that certain stand apart advantage. What I wanted was a fun mix between features that were "realistic" (quill body), and characteristics that also said, "Attractor." Here's how to tie it: Tying the Euro Quill Yellow Sally Fly Hook: Partridge SUJ Jig hook Bead: Black Nickel Tungsten slotted Thread: Semperfli Spyder 18/0 Yellow Hotspot: Semperfli Spyder thread, 18/0 Yellow Hackle: Hungarian Partridge feather Thorax: Hareline Hare's Ear Plus Dub, Rusty Brown Abdomen: Quill Body, dyed yellow Tail: Mayfly Tail, Amber. U.V. Resin: Loon Outdoors Thin. Adhesive: Sally Hansons "Hard as Nails."  Euro Quill Yellow Sally Fly Step-by-Step Tying Instructions In bigger sizes like #14 and up, start by adding a bit of .010 lead behind the bead. Start by attaching the thread behind the bead and building a small thread dam to jam the bead tightly in place. (When no lead is used.) Next, measure and catch in the tail fibers slightly in front of the thread dam behind the bead. Secure down the tail with touching turn wraps and keeping the fibers on top of the shank to the bend. Catch in the Quill on the near side of the shank towards you just in front of the tail. (Black banding side up on the Quill.) Secure the rest of the Quill down along the shank with touching turn wraps. Take your time for a more cosmetically pleasing effect  and build a slight "carrot" taper with the thread. At this point, snip off the butt ends of the tail. In touching turn wraps, bring the Quill up the shank and capture it down just behind the bead with a couple tight thread wraps and locking turns. Snip butt end off close if there is any. Apply a thin layer of your favorite U.V. Resin to the Quill for protection and cure. (A standard thin head cement or varnish can also be applied to the body. Just make sure to let it completely dry before moving on to the next step.) Next, dub a very thin/tight Thorax about two millimeters behind the bead. You want to make space for the hackle and hotspot. Prepare an appropriate sized Partridge feather. (I like to keep mine sparse for the cosmetic appeal, but from a production on water value I keep it full to allow for loss and breakage of fibers.) Strip off all unnecessary longer fibers and down feathers from the stem. Grabbing the feather from the tip, gently fold back the fibers so just the pointed tip is left.(I like to use hackle pliers to aid in this.) Cut off a millimeter or two of that tip. Tie in the tip of the Partridge feather just behind the bead, in front of the dubbing ball, so the concave is facing upward. Using your preferred method, hackle the Partridge 1-3 times stroking back the fibers with each rotation. Capture down the butt end and snip off close. Now finish with a couple whip finishes tight up on the bead creating the hotspot and snip off thread. Add a small amount of Head cement to the whip finished thread.  Additional Tips & Ideas Try using a brighter color thread like Fluorescents for the underbody and hotspot. Also wrap the Quill in even spaces a bit and letting the thread wraps of the underbody hine through to lighten the color up. (Instead of touching turns. Finally, use a strand of flat tinsel for the underbody to add flash to this pattern. 

Fly Tyer: Tony Sandrone, J Stockard customer & avid tyer The Bucktail Gamechanger Fly, which Tony Sandrone calls the Nightmare Musky Fly, is a spin off of an already perfect pattern made by Blane Chocklett. It's a highly customizable and versatile pattern that can be adapted to suit any fishing scenario. It features multiple articulated sections, which allow it to swim in a lifelike manner that can attract predatory fish species such as pike, musky, and bass. Using bucktail on this gamechanger fly is important because it adds a great deal of movement to an already very lifelike pattern. Nightmare Musky Gamechanger Fly Recipe Shanks: Articulated Shanks, 40lb or better bite wire for connections 1 footHooks: Ahrex PR320 Predator Stinger hooks in 4/0 and 6/0Eyes: Living Eyes Other Materials: Dyed over White Belly Hair, Bucktail, UV Polar Chenille, Hen Saddle or Neck, Dubbing and Flashabou Tying the Nightmare Musky Gamechanger Fly Step 1: Tie 4 feathers to each side of a 28mm shank. Tie in and palmer the UV chenille forward 7 wraps. Stack and flare the belly hair on top and bottom of the shank, tips facing the rear of the fly. Whip finish and cover thread with Deercreek Diamond hard UV.  Step 2: Using another 28mm shank, tie shanks together and repeat last 3 steps in step 1.  Step 3: Add another 28mm shank to the tail section. Tie in and palmer chenille as before. This time reverse tie the belly hair on the shank. Take a tube or a pen and bend hair back. Pull thread through the hair and build a thread dam to hold belly hair back. Whip finish and cover thread with UV resin.  Step 4: Repeat step 3. This will finish the tail section.  Step 5: Using the 4/0 hook, tie the connection wire on, feed the wire through the bottom of the tail section. This will create a loop. Tie down the wire and bend tags ends of wire back and lash down with a good thread base. Repeat the polar chenille, reverse tied bucktail three times on the hook shank. Make sure to change over to the actual Bucktail from this step forward. Whip finish and cover with the UV resin.  Step 6: Add a 40mm shank on at this point. Same as before polar chenille and reverse tied bucktail 2 more times. Whip finish and cover with UV resin.  Step 7: Using the 6/0 hook Do the same thing as before to make the connection from shank to hook. Using the polar chenille, wrap forward 9 wraps. Reverse tie in bucktail and bend back. Use the polar chenille to move forward 6 wraps and tie in your last reverse tied layer of bucktail. Now tie on about 12-15 strands of the magnum flashabou at the half way point of the material. Distribute the flash evenly around the shank and reverse tie it like the bucktail, bending it back.  Step 8: Tie in 4 saddle hackles, 2 on each side of the fly like fins.  Step 9: Take a small bundle of laser dub and tie in on each side of the hook shank also on top and bottom. Making sure to tie it in at the middle of the bundle. 4 bundles total. Then bend back like the bucktail and wrap in front of dub not on it.  Step 10: Comb out extra dub.  Step 11: Repeat steps 9 and 10 and whip finish.  Step 12: Apply super glue to eyes and press onto the head just behind the hook eye. Use Deercreek fine flex to cover thread and front of eyes as insurance, add stripes and you are finished!  Tips: Use the length of the shank as a guide for length of the belly hair. Remember to add a little length to each section of hair as this will help with the taper of the fly. When you are reverse tying the bucktail you can control the taper as well. Keep in mind to never tie on top of the bucktail when making a dam, it defeats the purpose of reverse tying when you do. Most important of all have fun with this pattern. It is very versatile. Materials can be swapped very easily.  Want to see what musky fishing with one of these flies could look like? Check out this musky fishing video from Hardman Fishing Adventures recently posted on GlobalFlyFisher.com. It depicts a "perfect" musky fishing day: raining and miserable. Watch them land some river monsters! Shop J. Stockard for Gamechanger Fly Tying Material At J. Stockard Fly Fishing, we take pride in offering some of the best fly tying materials available to help fly fishermen create effective and innovative flies for the waters they love to fish. We want to help you make the most out of your fly fishing experience. That's why we offer a wide range of fly tying tools and materials to help you create custom flies that will attract more fish. When tying your gamechanger fly, be sure to experiment with different color combinations and materials to create the perfect look and action. Every fly tyer has their own unique style, and they may want to alter the gamechanger fly to fit their specific needs. Changing the size, weight, or color of a gamechanger fly can make all the difference in the world when it comes to attracting fish. The gamechanger fly's design makes it an ideal fly for customization. It's an excellent choice for anglers looking to create something different and effective, and our fly tying materials can help you do just that. Our website features a vast selection of fly tying materials and tools, including feathers, fur, synthetic materials, hooks, and more. We have everything you need to tie gamechanger flies that will help you catch more fish. Browse our selection and take advantage of our competitive pricing and fast shipping.  Shop with us and experience the difference today! 

Guest Blogger: Joe Dellaria It was the third time a fish took my float indicator that Saturday morning. This time it was a 15-16” brown that held on for several seconds before letting go! I promptly coated an old fly with floating putty and caught several fish. That’s when I vowed it was time to develop a Strike Indicator Fly. It took a season or two to refine the pattern. Initially, I tied a fluorescent orange spun deer hair fly and shaped it like a football. It worked, but after a couple of fish, it got waterlogged and was barely visible in the water film. Addition of a high-vis tail helped to see the fly and improved floatation, but it was still pretty low in the water film after catching a few fish. Later that same season I found green beetles in the stomach of a nice trout (what can I say, I like to eat trout every now and then). So I tried green deer hair and added rubber legs. It worked great too, but the rubber legs added weight and the fly became difficult to see even faster. This led to the addition of a 2 mm foam cap over the deer hair. Voila, now the fly remained visible even after catching several fish (which of course is the whole point of this exercise). Eventually I added a contrasting foam stripe on the top. Now the fly was easily visible even in riffles and rapids. The Strike Indicator Fly excels when nothing is rising and the water is slightly hazy from the end of run off. I find fish hold near shallower cover and feed voraciously under these conditions. That’s when I like to use the Strike Indicator Fly with a small unweighted girdle bug on a 15-24” dropper. This fishes well in 1-3 feet of water. Last year I was fishing one of my favorite stretches. It has a rocky bottom, punctuated by periodic small holes that are slightly deeper. The fish tend to sit at the head or tail of the mini-holes or tight to larger rocks. I was working the stretch carefully as it is necessary to get the flies right over the head of the fish. One nicer fish had already charged the Strike Indicator Fly, looked at it for a couple of seconds, and turned off (this is where a stick of dynamite is mighty tempting). A few minutes later the flies were passing by a particularly “fishy looking” spot. Just as they passed the downstream edge of a large rock, the water exploded and the Strike Indicator Fly suddenly disappeared. It was a very determined fish as it wrapped around several snags. Fortunately, the leader held and eventually a very thick 14” brown came to net. Ah, success is so sweet. That is a typical Strike Indicator Fly story. Fishing the Strike Indicator Fly So how do you know when to use the Strike Indicator Fly? In my experience, this technique excels in the early season when the water is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. But, whenever you want is also okay – it works all season long with some modifications. It always seems to enrage a fish or two as long as fish are not rising to a dominant hatch. Given the fish are not rising, I usually like to start with a strike indicator and two appropriate nymphs. I usually start with a weighted lead fly and an unweighted fly on an 18-24” dropper. After three or more fish take the strike indicator, I switch to the Strike Indicator Fly and an unweighted dropper fly (usually a nymph, girdle bug, or wooly bugger). Occasionally the Strike Indicator Fly will land upside down. You can tell since the yellow contrasting stripe does not show. When this happens, tighten your line slightly and jostle the top of your fly rod until the fly rolls over. It usually takes one or two tries. Last year I caught 16 trout in just over 2 hours while fishing less than a half-mile stretch of river. The fish split evenly between the Strike Indicator Fly and the girdle bug dropper. All the fish were 14-17” browns. The takes on the Strike Indicator Fly are often like a bass smashing a surface lure. It’s a great way to get your adrenaline going. Then the game begins. After catching a fish or two on the Strike Indicator Fly, the natural tendency is to focus on it in anticipation of the next explosion. That’s when a fish will take the girdle bug and the Strike Indicator Fly slowly slips under the water. Many times, I find myself thinking “Hmm how does the Strike Indicator Fly slowly slip under the water?” After a slight pause, my lightning fast mind reminds me, “Hey dummy, the fish took the girdle bug. Set the hook, NOW!” Then you start waiting for the Strike Indicator Fly to slowly slip under the water and an explosion occurs as the fish takes the Strike Indicator Fly. Eventually you will find the balance where either take is recognized. When it is working, it is an addicting style of fishing. I have experimented and found many different combinations seem to work well. Here’s the recipe and how I tie the fly. How to Tie the Strike Indicator Fly Materials   Material Used Comments Hook #8 Mustad R50 Equivalent hooks: Daiichi 1170 or 1180, Tiemco 100 Thread Black UTC Ultra 280 Fish don’t seem to mind contrasting thread. It saves me time by not changing thread for each deer hair color (As long as the fish don’t care, which they don’t, I don’t care). If you are fashion conscious, feel free to match the thread and deer hair color. Tail calf tail fluorescent orange and white are my favorites for high visibility Body spun deer hair Red or fluorescent orange are best for visibility, the fish don’t seem to care. Over Body 2 mm foam Red or fluorescent orange; if you are partial to another color, give it a try, it will probably work Hi-Vis Strip 2×2 mm foam strip Yellow or red seem to improve visibility most; make sure it contrasts the foam over body to maximize visibility Tying Steps Step 1 Step 1: Crush the barb down, Wrap the shaft of the hook with thread. Stop just before the hook bend, and Tie in about 1/8” diameter of fluorescent orange calf tail. Be careful not to over wrap as it will create a bulge. Step 2: Shape a piece (about 1 1/4” long x 1/2” wide) of 2 mm closed cell orange foam as shown to the right. Tail end is shown left; eye end is right side and is slightly longer. Step 3: Tie it on top of the tail near the bend of the hook where the tail first exits. Wrap thread over the foam up to where the tail is tied in. Trim off any excess foam and cover with thread. Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 4: Spin a 2-3 pencil thick clump of orange deer hair. Stroke hair to the rear of the hook, and make several wraps at the leading edge of the spun deer hair (this locks the spun hair). For an excellent video demonstrating how to spin deer hair, see Chris Helm demonstrating the basics of spinning deer hair. Repeat spinning the deer hair to about ¼” from the eye of the hook after using your preferred hair-packing device. Make 2-3 half hitches, or whip finish, and cut the thread. Step 5: Remove the fly from the vice. Trim the deer hair to the basic shape of a flat football. Start by trimming the bottom flat and as close to the hook as possible without hitting the thread. The wider the bottom the better the fly will float with the bottom down. Also, it is a good idea to apply cement to the bottom at this point. Continue trimming the deer hair to shape the hair above the hook bend into a football shape. Replace the fly in the vice and reattach the thread. Step 6: Pull the foam snugly over the deer hair and tie it down close to the deer hair at the front of the fly. Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Step 7: Cut a roughly 2 x2 mm strand of a contrasting foam a little longer than the length of the body. I usually use a yellow strip with an orange body. Tie the foam stripe in at the same point where the foam body is tied down. Make 2-3 wraps of thread on the hook and under both pieces of foam after lifting up the foam. Place a light coat of super glue on the underside of the yellow strip and gently roll the strip down the foam body covering to near the tail. Hold it until the glue dries (10-15 seconds). Step 8: You can use the fly at this point. However, I like to add another piece of foam on the front that makes the fly skate on the surface. To do so, cut a ¾”x3/8” piece of black 2 mm foam. Use a bodkin or any pointy object to poke a hole in the center of the foam at 2/3 of the length. Push the eye of the hook through the hole you just made. Snug the new piece of foam up to the other two pieces of foam. Step 9: Make one light wrap of thread around the black foam and between the orange foam. Slowly tighten the loose wrap down to the hook shank and make 2-3 more turns. Make 3-4 wraps in front of the black foam and whip finish. Remove the fly from the vise. Trim the skater foam on top so it is even with ends of the cap and stripe foam. Trim the bottom of the skater foam so it is roughly flush with the bottom of the deer hair bottom. Then trim stray deer hair and the sides of the cap foam so it is flush with the deer hair. You are done – time to go catch some fish! Step 9 - Done!