Burnt Orange Foam Salmonfly
by @sunny
Foam Salmonfly · Dry fly
Big orange bugs over a bright gravel bar
A size 6 foam salmonfly dry in orange, brown and yellow, built to float high over riffles and banks during the big stonefly flights.
Burnt Orange Foam Salmonfly is a big floating stonefly with a segmented orange foam back, barred legs and a long swept wing. It is built from orange foam over orange dubbing, natural elk hair, a brown hackle collar and a bright yellow foam head.
- Pattern
- Foam Salmonfly
- Imitates
- Salmonfly hatch, typically late May through early July on western freestone rivers
- Hook
- size 6
- Tippet
- 2Xrule of three
- Three segmented orange foam body sections
- Barred orange and black rubber legs
- Elk hair wing over brown hackle
- Yellow foam head for easy tracking
- Size 6 dry-fly hook
On the water
Three fat orange foam segments ride over a shaggy fringe of orange dubbing, each one cinched with black thread. Orange-and-black barred legs splay out to the sides, a long elk hair wing lies flat along the back, and a yellow foam tab sits up front where the eye can find it.
Throw it tight to willow banks and into the soft seams behind boulders when the big stoneflies are flying. Let it land with a plop, dead-drift it, then give one short twitch so the legs kick and the hackle shivers on the surface.
Segmenting the foam is the step that makes or breaks it. Wrap the thread firm enough to pinch each section into a plump bead, but not so hard it slices the foam, and space the three bands evenly down the shank.
Rigging
- Tippet
- 2Xhook size divided by three
- Leader
- Nine feet, tapered — longer and finer in flat water
- Rig on 2X to 3X tippet; the big wing and legs will twist lighter line.
- Fish it inches from the bank and let it drift drag-free through the seam.
- A single twitch at the end of the drift can wake the legs without sinking it.
Where and when
- Water
- Yellowstone River, Paradise Valley, Montana
- Hatch
- Salmonfly hatch, typically late May through early July on western freestone rivers
- Target
- Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Cutthroat trout
- Water type
- Riffles, pocket water and brushy banks of freestone rivers
- Also fishes
- Doubles as a golden stone or hopper stand-in on summer banks, and floats well enough to hold up a small nymph on a dropper.
Also on this water
- SalmonflyJun–Jul
- Yellow SallyJul–Aug
- Mother's Day CaddisApr–May
Fished out of Livingston, Gardiner and Emigrant.
Make it yourself
Intermediate6 materials · 12 steps
- Pattern
- Foam Salmonfly
- Style
- Dry fly
- Hook
- Tiemco 5212size 6
- Thread
- Black 140-denier
Materials in the order they go on the hook
- UnderbodyOrange dubbing
- BodyOrange 2mm foam
- LegsOrange and black barred rubber legs
- WingNatural elk hair
- HackleBrown saddle hackle
- HeadYellow 2mm foam
Details
- Imitates
- Salmonfly
- Colors
- Orange, Black, Brown, Yellow
How to tie it
The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (12)
- Mount the hook in the vise and lay a black thread base from the eye back to the bend.
- Tie in a strip of orange foam about as wide as the hook gape at the bend, with the long end pointing rearward.
- Dub a full, shaggy orange underbody forward to about two-thirds of the shank.
- Fold the foam forward over the dubbing and bind it down a third of the way up to form the first segment.
- Tie in a pair of barred rubber legs at that band, one on each side of the body.
- Fold the foam forward again and bind down a second segment the same length as the first.
- Form the third segment and add a second pair of legs at the front band.
- Stack a clump of elk hair, measure it to reach just past the bend, and tie it in flat on top at the front band.
- Tie in a brown saddle hackle by the stem and wrap four to five close turns forward toward the eye.
- Tie down a short strip of yellow foam on top just behind the eye and trim it to a small square tab.
- Build a neat black head, whip finish and trim the legs to length.
- Pick out the orange dubbing underneath so it fans below the foam segments.
Proportions (5)
- Foam strip width roughly equal to the hook gape.
- Three body segments of equal length covering the rear two-thirds of the shank.
- Elk hair wing reaching just past the bend of the hook.
- Rubber legs about one shank length, trailing back at an angle.
- Hackle fibres about one and a half to two times the hook gape.
Tips (4)
- Cut the foam strip with a straight edge so the segments come out even.
- Stack the elk hair well; even tips give a clean, flat wing profile.
- Use a dubbing brush on the underbody so the orange fibres show beneath the foam.
- Keep the yellow head small so it marks the fly without crowding the hook eye.
Common mistakes (4)
- Cutting through the foam with tight wraps; ease off pressure once the band is seated.
- Crowding the eye with wing, hackle and foam; leave space by stopping the body at two-thirds of the shank.
- Uneven segments; mark the band points on the shank before folding the foam.
- A wing that flares upward; use firm but soft loops and keep the hair on top of the foam.
Every kit size
Materials only
Size 6 · Materials only · 12 flies
$56.65
$4.72 a fly
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 10 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$6.50
Thread & wire
- Black 140-denier thread$2.95
Materials
- Orange dubbing$4.50
- Orange 2mm foam$7.90
- Orange and black barred rubber legs$3.50
- Natural elk hair$5.50
- Brown saddle hackle$11.95
- Yellow 2mm foam$7.90
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 6 · Materials only · 48 flies
$157.84
$3.29 a fly
Bought separately $166.15 · you save $8.31
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 10 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$13
Thread & wire
- Black 140-denier thread$5.90
Materials
- Orange dubbing$18
- Orange 2mm foam$19.75
- Orange and black barred rubber legs$14
- Natural elk hair$22
- Brown saddle hackle$47.80
- Yellow 2mm foam$19.75
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 6 · Materials only · 144 flies
$400.88
$2.78 a fly
Bought separately $455.55 · you save $54.67
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 10 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$35
Thread & wire
- Black 140-denier thread$17.70
Materials
- Orange dubbing$45
- Orange 2mm foam$59.25
- Orange and black barred rubber legs$35
- Natural elk hair$55
- Brown saddle hackle$143.40
- Yellow 2mm foam$59.25
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
With vise & tools
Size 6 · With vise & tools · 12 flies
$206.65
$17.22 a fly
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 18 more
Every item in this kit · 19 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$6.50
Thread & wire
- Black 140-denier thread$2.95
Materials
- Orange dubbing$4.50
- Orange 2mm foam$7.90
- Orange and black barred rubber legs$3.50
- Natural elk hair$5.50
- Brown saddle hackle$11.95
- Yellow 2mm foam$7.90
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
$300.34
$6.26 a fly
Bought separately $316.15 · you save $15.81
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 18 more
Every item in this kit · 19 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$13
Thread & wire
- Black 140-denier thread$5.90
Materials
- Orange dubbing$18
- Orange 2mm foam$19.75
- Orange and black barred rubber legs$14
- Natural elk hair$22
- Brown saddle hackle$47.80
- Yellow 2mm foam$19.75
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
$532.88
$3.70 a fly
Bought separately $605.55 · you save $72.67
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 18 more
Every item in this kit · 19 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$35
Thread & wire
- Black 140-denier thread$17.70
Materials
- Orange dubbing$45
- Orange 2mm foam$59.25
- Orange and black barred rubber legs$35
- Natural elk hair$55
- Brown saddle hackle$143.40
- Yellow 2mm foam$59.25
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
1 remix of this
Where this came from
fly pattern · made
1 remix
25 — from 1 remix, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.
- salmonfly
- foam salmonfly
- stonefly
- dry fly
- foam fly
- orange
- rubber legs
- elk hair
- freestone
- trout
- size 6
- big bug