Foam Stonefly · Dry fly
Orange bars drifting under yellow cottonwoods
A size 8 foam stonefly dry fly with barred orange and blue body, elk hair wing and blue cap, for trout on freestone water.
A foam stonefly dry fly shown in the vise against a mountain river and yellow autumn cottonwoods. It carries a barred orange and blue foam body, a long elk hair wing, a brown hackle on top and a bright blue foam cap.
- Pattern
- Foam Stonefly
- Imitates
- Large stonefly adults
- When
- typically early to mid summer, with stragglers into fall
- Hook
- size 8
- Tippet
- 3Xrule of three
- Barred orange and blue foam body
- Blue foam cap for easy sighting
- Brown hackle trimmed to sit on top
- Four barred rubber legs
- Size 8 on a 2X-long dry hook
On the water
Orange and blue bars run the length of the foam body, like a tiger dressed for a ball game. A long elk hair wing lies flat over the back, a brown collar of hackle bristles on top, and a blue foam cap sits at the eye. Four barred rubber legs hang below, two at each end.
Drop it tight to a grassy bank or let it ride the seam behind a boulder. Let it drift dead, then give it a small twitch so the legs kick. The blue cap helps you track it through broken, glinting water.
Clipping the hackle flat underneath is the detail to get right. With fibres only on top, the foam belly sits down in the film while the collar still catches light and keeps the front end lively.
Rigging
- Tippet
- 3Xhook size divided by three
- Leader
- Nine feet, tapered — longer and finer in flat water
- Fish it on 2X to 3X tippet; the foam and wing turn over better on a short, stout leader.
- Slap it down near banks and structure, then dead drift with an occasional twitch to move the legs.
- It floats high enough to carry a small nymph on a short dropper below.
Where and when
- Hatch
- Large stonefly adultstypically early to mid summer, with stragglers into fall
- Target
- Trout
- Water type
- Riffles, pocket water and grassy banks on freestone rivers
- Also fishes
- Also works as a hopper-dropper float on summer flows and as a bank-tight attractor for trout on autumn freestone rivers.
Make it yourself
Intermediate5 materials · 12 steps
- Pattern
- Foam Stonefly
- Style
- Dry fly
- Hook
- 2X-long dry fly hooksize 8
- Thread
- Orange 6/0
Materials in the order they go on the hook
- BodyOrange and blue barred foam strip
- LegsOrange and blue barred round rubber
- WingNatural elk hair
- HackleBrown saddle hackle, clipped flat underneath
- HeadBlue foam cap
Details
- Imitates
- Stonefly
- Colors
- Orange, Blue, Brown, Tan
How to tie it
The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (12)
- Mount the hook and start the orange thread at mid-shank, wrapping back to the bend.
- Cut the barred foam strip about as wide as the hook gap and lay it on top of the shank, extending slightly past the bend.
- Bind the foam down at the bend, then advance the thread and make two more tie-down bands to form segments, ending about two thirds up the shank.
- Tie in one barred rubber leg on each side at the rear tie-down band, angled back and down.
- Tie in a second pair of legs at the front tie-down band, angled back along the body.
- Clean and stack a clump of elk hair, measure it to reach the end of the foam body, and tie it in flat on top at the front band.
- Trim the elk hair butts at an angle and cover them with thread.
- Tie in the brown saddle hackle by the stem just ahead of the wing.
- Wrap four or five tight turns of hackle forward and tie off.
- Clip the hackle fibres flat underneath so only the top half of the collar remains.
- Tie in the blue foam cap just behind the eye, folding it back so it sits as a rounded head.
- Whip finish behind the eye and add a drop of cement to the wraps.
Proportions (5)
- Foam body runs from just past the bend to about two thirds up the shank.
- Rubber legs extend roughly one shank length from their tie-in points.
- Elk hair wing tips reach the end of the foam body.
- Hackle fibres measure about one and a half times the hook gap.
- Blue foam cap is about the width of the hook gap.
Tips (4)
- Use firm but not crushing thread pressure on the foam bands so the segments stay plump.
- Stack the elk hair well so the wing lies even and flat over the back.
- Line up the barring on the legs and body for a tidy, matched look.
- Trim the hackle with the hook upside down in the vise for a clean, flat cut.
Common mistakes (4)
- Cutting the foam through with thread; ease off the pressure on the last wrap of each band.
- A wing that runs past the body; measure the elk hair against the foam before tying in.
- Legs splayed unevenly; tie each pair in with the same number of wraps and check from above.
- Crowding the eye; leave room for the foam cap and whip finish before wrapping the hackle.
Every kit size
Materials only
Size 8 · Materials only · 12 flies
$52.15
$4.35 a fly
Includes 2X-long dry fly hook · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- 2X-long dry fly hook$6.50
Thread & wire
- Orange 6/0 thread$2.95
Materials
- Orange and blue barred foam strip$7.90
- Orange and blue barred round rubber$3.50
- Natural elk hair$5.50
- Brown saddle hackle, clipped flat underneath$11.95
- Blue foam cap$7.90
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 8 · Materials only · 48 flies
$140.74
$2.93 a fly
Bought separately $148.15 · you save $7.41
Includes 2X-long dry fly hook · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- 2X-long dry fly hook$13
Thread & wire
- Orange 6/0 thread$5.90
Materials
- Orange and blue barred foam strip$19.75
- Orange and blue barred round rubber$14
- Natural elk hair$22
- Brown saddle hackle, clipped flat underneath$47.80
- Blue foam cap$19.75
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 8 · Materials only · 144 flies
$361.28
$2.51 a fly
Bought separately $410.55 · you save $49.27
Includes 2X-long dry fly hook · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- 2X-long dry fly hook$35
Thread & wire
- Orange 6/0 thread$17.70
Materials
- Orange and blue barred foam strip$59.25
- Orange and blue barred round rubber$35
- Natural elk hair$55
- Brown saddle hackle, clipped flat underneath$143.40
- Blue foam cap$59.25
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
With vise & tools
Size 8 · With vise & tools · 12 flies
$202.15
$16.85 a fly
Includes 2X-long dry fly hook · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- 2X-long dry fly hook$6.50
Thread & wire
- Orange 6/0 thread$2.95
Materials
- Orange and blue barred foam strip$7.90
- Orange and blue barred round rubber$3.50
- Natural elk hair$5.50
- Brown saddle hackle, clipped flat underneath$11.95
- Blue foam cap$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 8 · With vise & tools · 48 flies
$283.24
$5.90 a fly
Bought separately $298.15 · you save $14.91
Includes 2X-long dry fly hook · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- 2X-long dry fly hook$13
Thread & wire
- Orange 6/0 thread$5.90
Materials
- Orange and blue barred foam strip$19.75
- Orange and blue barred round rubber$14
- Natural elk hair$22
- Brown saddle hackle, clipped flat underneath$47.80
- Blue foam cap$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 8 · With vise & tools · 144 flies
$493.28
$3.43 a fly
Bought separately $560.55 · you save $67.27
Includes 2X-long dry fly hook · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- 2X-long dry fly hook$35
Thread & wire
- Orange 6/0 thread$17.70
Materials
- Orange and blue barred foam strip$59.25
- Orange and blue barred round rubber$35
- Natural elk hair$55
- Brown saddle hackle, clipped flat underneath$143.40
- Blue foam cap$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
How it was made
3 iterations led here; the saved one is marked
1
2
3 Saved
Remixes
Remixed from
- Cottonwood Blue Cap Foam Stoneflyyou are here
No remixes yet — make your own version.
Where this came from
“remove the brown hackle under the body so it is half hackle with only the hackle on top”
fly pattern · made
0 — nothing entered the score yet, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.
- foam stonefly
- stonefly
- dry fly
- foam fly
- elk hair
- rubber legs
- orange
- blue
- trout
- freestone
- attractor
- size 8