Madison Valley Foam Salmonfly
by @john
Foam Salmonfly · Dry fly
Big orange bugs over the sagebrush banks
A size 6 foam salmonfly dry with an extended orange body and elk hair wing, for trout on freestone rivers during the salmonfly hatch.
A big foam salmonfly dry with a segmented orange body, a long elk hair wing and barred rubber legs. Orange foam, brown hackle and a bright yellow yarn sighter give it colour you can follow on a choppy riffle.
- Pattern
- Foam Salmonfly
- Imitates
- Salmonfly hatch, typically late May through early July as freestone rivers drop and clear
- Hook
- size 6
- Tippet
- 2Xrule of three
- Segmented orange foam body floats high
- Long natural elk hair wing
- Barred orange and black rubber legs
- Yellow poly yarn sighter on top
- Size 6 dry-fly hook
On the water
Orange foam stacked in fat segments over an orange dubbed belly. A long elk hair wing sweeps back past the bend, brown hackle bristles underneath, and orange and black legs kick out the sides. A tuft of yellow sits on top like a little flag.
Throw it tight to the banks and the willow edges when the big bugs are crawling and flying. Let it land with a plop, dead drift it through the seams, and give it a small twitch now and then. The foam keeps it riding high in fast chop.
Foam segments make or break this one. Wrap each tie-down band with firm, even pressure so the ridges look the same size, and stop short of cutting through the foam.
Rigging
- Tippet
- 2Xhook size divided by three
- Leader
- Nine feet, tapered — longer and finer in flat water
- Use 2X or 3X tippet; the bulk and the legs can twist lighter line.
- Fish it on a short leader of about 7 feet for accurate casts to the bank.
- Mostly dead drift, with a single twitch near structure to wake up the legs.
Where and when
- Water
- Madison River, Southwest Montana
- Hatch
- Salmonfly hatch, typically late May through early July as freestone rivers drop and clear
- Target
- Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Cutthroat trout
- Water type
- Riffles, cut banks and willow edges of big freestone rivers
- Also fishes
- Doubles as a golden stone or big hopper on summer afternoons, and makes a buoyant top fly for a dry-dropper rig.
Also on this water
- SalmonflyJun–Jul
- CaddisJun–Sep
- BaetisApr–May, Sep–Oct
Fished out of Ennis, West Yellowstone and Cameron.
Make it yourself
Intermediate7 materials · 10 steps
- Pattern
- Foam Salmonfly
- Style
- Dry fly
- Hook
- Tiemco 5212size 6
- Thread
- Orange 140 denier
Materials in the order they go on the hook
- UnderbodyOrange dubbing
- HackleBrown saddle hackle
- BodyOrange 2 mm foam
- WingNatural elk hair
- LegsOrange and black barred rubber legs
- IndicatorYellow poly yarn
- HeadOrange 2 mm foam
Details
- Imitates
- Salmonfly
- Colors
- Orange, Brown, Tan, Yellow, Black
How to tie it
The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (10)
- Mount the hook and lay a thread base from the eye to the bend.
- Dub a slim orange underbody over the rear two thirds of the shank.
- Tie in the brown saddle hackle at the bend and palmer it forward through the dubbing in open turns, then trim the fibres flat on top.
- Cut a strip of orange foam about hook-gap wide and tie it in at the bend so it extends a third of a shank length past the hook.
- Fold the foam forward and bind it down in three or four evenly spaced segments up to the two-thirds point.
- Stack a clump of elk hair and tie it on top so the tips reach just past the end of the foam body.
- Tie in two rubber legs on each side, angled back, about a shank length long.
- Tie a short tuft of yellow poly yarn on top just ahead of the wing and trim it to stand upright.
- Pull the remaining foam forward over the thorax and tie it down behind the eye to form the head and a short collar flap.
- Whip finish under the foam flap and add a drop of head cement.
Proportions (5)
- Extended foam body: about one third of a shank length beyond the bend.
- Wing: tips just past the end of the foam body.
- Legs: roughly one shank length, trimmed evenly side to side.
- Palmered hackle: fibres about one and a half times the hook gap.
- Foam head: about one fifth of the shank length.
Tips (4)
- Cut the foam strip slightly wider than the hook gap so the body looks plump from below.
- Clean the short fibres out of the elk hair before stacking so the wing lies straight.
- Keep the yarn sighter short; a tall tuft catches wind and spins the fly.
- Use a marker on the legs only if they arrive unbarred; match the black bands to the picture.
Common mistakes (4)
- Crushing the foam with too much thread tension: use two firm wraps per segment, not ten.
- Flaring the elk hair sideways: tie it in with a soft loop first, then tighten straight down.
- Crowding the eye: leave room behind the eye for the foam head and the whip finish.
- Uneven legs: tie both pairs before trimming, then cut them together.
Every kit size
Materials only
Size 6 · Materials only · 12 flies
$56.20
$4.68 a fly
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 10 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$6.50
Thread & wire
- Orange 140 denier thread$2.95
Materials
- Orange dubbing$4.50
- Brown saddle hackle$11.95
- Orange 2 mm foam$11.85
- Natural elk hair$5.50
- Orange and black barred rubber legs$3.50
- Yellow poly yarn$3.50
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 6 · Materials only · 48 flies
$164.49
$3.43 a fly
Bought separately $173.15 · you save $8.66
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 10 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$13
Thread & wire
- Orange 140 denier thread$5.90
Materials
- Orange dubbing$18
- Brown saddle hackle$47.80
- Orange 2 mm foam$39.50
- Natural elk hair$22
- Orange and black barred rubber legs$14
- Yellow poly yarn$7
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 6 · Materials only · 144 flies
$412.81
$2.87 a fly
Bought separately $469.10 · you save $56.29
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 10 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$35
Thread & wire
- Orange 140 denier thread$17.70
Materials
- Orange dubbing$45
- Brown saddle hackle$143.40
- Orange 2 mm foam$114.55
- Natural elk hair$55
- Orange and black barred rubber legs$35
- Yellow poly yarn$17.50
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
With vise & tools
Size 6 · With vise & tools · 12 flies
$206.20
$17.18 a fly
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 18 more
Every item in this kit · 19 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$6.50
Thread & wire
- Orange 140 denier thread$2.95
Materials
- Orange dubbing$4.50
- Brown saddle hackle$11.95
- Orange 2 mm foam$11.85
- Natural elk hair$5.50
- Orange and black barred rubber legs$3.50
- Yellow poly yarn$3.50
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 6 · With vise & tools · 48 flies
$306.99
$6.40 a fly
Bought separately $323.15 · you save $16.16
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 18 more
Every item in this kit · 19 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$13
Thread & wire
- Orange 140 denier thread$5.90
Materials
- Orange dubbing$18
- Brown saddle hackle$47.80
- Orange 2 mm foam$39.50
- Natural elk hair$22
- Orange and black barred rubber legs$14
- Yellow poly yarn$7
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 6 · With vise & tools · 144 flies
$544.81
$3.78 a fly
Bought separately $619.10 · you save $74.29
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 18 more
Every item in this kit · 19 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$35
Thread & wire
- Orange 140 denier thread$17.70
Materials
- Orange dubbing$45
- Brown saddle hackle$143.40
- Orange 2 mm foam$114.55
- Natural elk hair$55
- Orange and black barred rubber legs$35
- Yellow poly yarn$17.50
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
The creator
Remixes
No remixes yet — make your own version.
Where this came from
fly pattern · made
1 save
8 — from 1 save, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.
- salmonfly
- foam
- dry fly
- stonefly
- orange
- elk hair
- rubber legs
- madison
- freestone
- trout
- big dry
- attractor