PT Stone
by Jason Akl
Some of the most enjoyable hatches to
fish throughout the long summer months would have to be those of the insect order
Plecoptera (stoneflies). When the time is right for the bugs to emerge, there is no need
for a magnifying glass to try and identify what is hatching; these bugs are big and ugly.
Out of the nine families of Stoneflies
that occur in North America, one species sparks a particular interest with fly fisherman;
the huge Pteronarcys stones (Pteronarcidae, pteronarcys, dorsata). These stones are very
elusive to the untrained fly fisher because of a spread out hatch date (late April to May)
and sparse numbers of insects during the actual hatch.
The intriguing quality about these
special stones is their enormous size. These Pteronarcys stones can range anywhere from 1
1/2 to 2 inches in length (emerged adult). You can just image what a fish would do to get
a good sized meal like that, and with this fly you are about to find out.
The PT stone pattern is a fly that
imitates this genus of super-sized stones, in their adult stage. The body of the fly is
tied with deer hair to help keep the fly riding high on the water surface imitating an egg
laying female or an unluckily individual which has become water logged.
The Pteronarcys stones start their hatch
around 5:00 – 6:00 PM so fishing this pattern at dusk and well into darkness is a
must. The dark colored body and tapering shape will provide a great silhouette under the
moon light and give you the best chance possible to land a trophy fish.
Materials
used in the PT Stone
Hook: Teimco 200R Size 6
Thread: Uni-thread Black 6/0
Body: Black Deer Hair
Tail: Black Goose Biots
Segmentation: Black Ostrich Herl
Eyes: Black Bead Chain
Antennae: Stripped Grizzly Hackles
Wing: Black Mesh/ MFC Wing Material/ Black Deer Hair
1. To start this fly place you hook into
your vice and attach the thread to the hook shank. Select two good sized black goose biots
and strip them from their hackles.
2. Tie in the two goose biots onto the back of the hook shank on top
of the hook barb. Strip the end of two black ostrich herl's and tie them on top of the
hook shank facing towards the rear of the fly. At this point place a drop of Dave's
flexament to the tie down point to hold the biots in place.
3. Select a pencil sized section of black deer hair and clean the hair
of any under fuzz. Take two light wraps of thread around the deer hair and on the third
wrap increase the pressure on the thread spinning the deer hair around the hook shank
evenly. Repeat this process until you have reached approximately the 1/2 mark on the hook
shank (make sure not to forget to pack the hair between each tying step).
4. With a sharp pair of scissors or a razor trim down the deer hair to
a nice tapered shape (The bottom of the body gets clipped flat). Spin the two ostrich
herls slightly to form a herl rope and wrap it up the length of the deer hair body you
just created.
5. With you MFC wing cutters (or by hand) cut out one wing from the
black nylon mesh and one wing from the MFC winging material. Tie down the nylon mesh first
and then the MFC wing on top of that. Cut and clean another smaller section of deer hair
and stack the tips in your hair stacker. Tie the deer hair on top of the other winging
materials but be carefully not to flare the hair if possible.
6. Begin again spinning and packing the black deer hair up the hook
shank until you reach the back of the hook eye.
7. With your scissors again clip the deer down close to the hook
(again the bottom of the head gets cuts flat). Instead of the tapered shape this head
section gets a half round shape.
8. Strip two grizzly hackles and tie them onto the front of the fly as
antennae. The last thing to do is tie in the bead chain eyes. Do this using a figure eight
wrap and be careful not to wrap down any of the deer hair or antennae. Whip finish and
cement the head.
Tight lines and Smooth threads
Jason Akl
© 2004 |
