| The Braided Body Stonefly |
| Featured Fly | |
| Written by Fred Bridge | |
| Wednesday, 20 February 2008 20:00 | |
|
The material used for the braiding is 4 or 5 or 6 strand embroidery yarn that is available at any craft, fabric, or general merchandise store (Wal-Mart) and is very inexpensive. A size 8, 3x long, hook is used in the pictures below but the braiding style can be used for sizes #4 through #18 by removing strands of the yard to appropriately reduce bulk. Colors of your choice can be used but my experience has shown yellow (gold) and brown, green and yellow, black and gray produce flies that catch fish. Tying InstructionsStep 1Mount hook in vise, cover shank with thread (color to match with color of darkest yarn used in the braid), apply 10-15 turns of lead wire (thickness appropriate for hook size), make some wraps of thread over the wire to secure it, tie in goose biots for the tail.
Step 2Cut a piece about 5" to 8" long of each color. I find longer starands are easier to work with and the material is cheap so waste is not a problem.Tie in the two strands of yarn in front of the lead wire, one on each side (doesn’t matter which), and one at a time hold them along the side of the shank and wrap the thread back to the base of the tail biots.
Step 3Take pliers and squeeze the lead wire to flatten it. The wire plus the yarn on the sides creates the flat body of the nymph.
Step 4Advance the tying thread to behind the eye. Tie off. Cut thread. Turn the vise so the eye of the hook is facing you. Step 5Tie a Granny Knot under the hook with the two strands of yarn. When tying the knot ALWAYS pass light colored yarn over the dark colored yarn.
Step 6Now pass the dark color strand over the top of the hook. Move yarn to the rear of the thorax area up against the last segment and pull the strands straight out to opposite sides of the shank. As you make more knots the colors will change sides but it does not matter. Light over dark - dark over top of hook.
Step 7Repeat, repeat, repeat, until you have a couple segments up in front of the lead wire. The neat thing about this "braid" is that you can stop and let go of the yarn at any time and the "braid" won’t loosen or unwind.
Step 8Now, reattach the thread. Tie in a wing case of the material and style of your choice. The photo shows turkey. Tie in a hackle to be wound for the legs. Make a heavy, fuzzy, dub of fur of an appropriate color for the thorax. The fur in the photo is my amber dyed rabbit that I also use for March Browns.
Step 9Dub a nice full thorax. Palmer hackle over thorax and tie off. Trim hackle fibers on top. Pull wing case over the top and tie off. Tie in goose biots for the feelers at head. Wrap a nice head with thread and cement it.
The Finished FlyTop View
Bottom of fly will show the light color yarn. Top the dark color. Sides will show the transition bands just like the real thing.
|
|
| Last Updated ( Monday, 05 May 2008 22:20 ) | |
The technique used for the body is really not braiding but the finished result looks like it was braided. The technique was taught to me more than 40 years ago by my late brother-in-law, and mentor, Russ Mowry. See the Green Weenie article. The late Al Campbell referred to this technique as the Granny Knot style. When you see the pics below you will see why he said that. 
