Blog

@anna_on_the_fly is on the water constantly. She is constantly trying new things -- new flies, new techniques, and new gear. We are grateful that she's an Ambassador for DiscountFlies. And, we're grateful that she shares her knowledge and adventures with us here in the "Fly of the Week" (or month during the "off" season) Column.

March 26th 2023

FLY OF THE MONTH!! March has been an amazing month for fly fishing and it feels like Spring is in the air! I have been starting to see a plethora of larger bugs including crane fly larvae, bright green caddis larvae, cases caddis, larger mayfly nymphs but the one I am most excited about is one of my favorite bugs to see, GOLDEN STONEFLIES!! This month is a highly anticipated time for me as I eagerly wait each March for the Golden Stonefly “molt” that crawls up one of my favorite rivers, it is undoubtedly one of the most exciting times on the river, similar to hitting the Salmonfly hatch just right. That being said there are hundreds of stonefly patterns out there and hitting a specific “molt” can be hard so after studying the Stonefly lifecycle, shuffling through different flies and a lot of hours on the water I can confidently say the fly that has been the most productive golden stonefly nymph imitation for me is the “Micro Golden Stonefly” also referred to as the “Biot Golden Stone”.

This fly is created by Mike Mercer – a legend in fly fishing and particularly in the fly-tying world. This is one of his “Hall of Fame” flies and a tough one to beat when it comes to realism, attraction, color and effectiveness. Really understanding the life cycle of stoneflies is what will make or break a day so I would suggest doing some research but hopefully with this fly and a few tips I am about to tell you if you see any stonefly activity you will DEFINITLEY not be disappointed that you have some of these in your box!

Before I dive into things, some people are probably wondering “what is a molt?” - a molt is when aquatic insects with hard exoskeletons (like mayfly and stonefly nymphs) grow bigger, their exoskeleton does not grow with them, instead they grow a new, larger one underneath and shed the old one when it's too small, like a crawfish but when this process is used referring to insects it is called “molting”. Although most aquatic insects only “molt” once as they are emerging to the surface to become a winged adult, Stoneflies actually molt 10-20 times, some larger species even molt up to 30 times over 4 years before entering their last stage in their life cycle as a winged adult. As you can imagine - being on the river at the time when 1000s of stoneflies are molting underwater – it is quite spectacular and can produce some of the best fishing of your life, which is why knowing which flies to use is so important. A lot of times we can’t visually see this molt happening compared to a stonefly “hatch” where nymphs molt one final time leaving 1000s of shucks (empty exoskeletons) on the shoreline and a very visible clue so the best way to go about it is based on the time of year so since we are heading into Spring that is what I will go over in this post.

As the water is warming up and ice is melting, 1000s of Stoneflies that have been hidden under rocks and sediment are starting to wake up – almost like a hibernation – and this sparks one of the biggest “bug activities” that trout see after a long winter of preserving energy and surviving off of millions of tiny midges. At the beginning of the Stonefly molt or the beginning of a hatch the fish are less picky and more interested in packing on some much-desired calories that they have missed all winter. This is when fish are looking for relative size and movement meaning the way the fly pushes and moves in the water. During this phase it is a great time to use a Pat’s Rubber Legs, the legs make it a great attractor and will grab the attention of the fish really well. However, it is very hard to know what phase of a molt a Stonefly is in since it moves up most rivers based on altitude and weather, so unless you are really tracking it year to year 99% of the time it will just be something you either happen upon and trust me it can be very annoying having 15 minutes of lights out fishing only to continue to see stoneflies hatching but a sudden cease in bites – that is why the realistic characteristics of the Micro Golden Stonefly is perfect because it covers every stage – from when fish are hammering everything that looks like a stonefly to when they are more picky – looking at size, color and profile the MGS is hard to beat! I have fished the Stonefly molt when it felt like every shelf I found was a conveyor belt of Stoneflies – nearly every cast or every other I had a fish on – as soon as it dropped off that shelf my fly would get HAMMERED, even making my elbow sore! Going from fishing size 24 midges and looking for subtle changes in my indicator to using size 10-16 stoneflies and having fish inhale them to the point it feels like I don’t even need to set the hook is the greatest feeling and one I wait all Winter for!! The very first time I caught a trout using the Micro Golden Stonefly was the first time FLY FISHING that I thought the fish was going to die, it was all the way down it’s throat – thankfully it was a barbless hook and the fish was fine but that was definitely not the last time I’ve gotten fish to the net with a MGS down the fish’s throat. The only other fly that has happened with and probably my all-time favorite is the Chubby Chernobyl and in the summer a Chubby with a MGS underneath or a non-micro standard Epoxy Biot Golden Stonefly is one of the deadliest combinations out there, covering both the nymph and adult stage of the Stonefly.

The last two things I wanted to mention is the color and size of Stoneflies in the Spring, with Golden Stoneflies in particular start off a lighter color, this time of the year bright yellow Stonefly imitations are not going to be as effective as more pale-yellow colors. As we head to Summer the end of April and May they will becoming a brighter yellow before becoming a darker yellowish brown heading into late Summer/early Fall so be sure to have a variety of yellow shades, getting darker as the months go by but for now these light yellow flies are PERFECT. As for size, most Stonefly nymphs are known for their larger size so a lot of times I see people throwing size 6 or even size 8 Stoneflies, maybe because they are excited to use imitations of this insect again but unless you are on a very large river or we are in the midst of summer most Golden Stoneflies you find this time of the year are going to be smaller, sometimes they can even be mistaken for Mayfly nymphs so it is better to start on the smaller side, sizes 14 and 16 and then move up to size 10 and 12 from there before using the big size 8s during peak summer fishing. If you do flip rocks or use a seine and come across some aquatic insects that look like they could be Stoneflies the quickest way to determine the difference is the number of tails it has – Stoneflies have 2 tails and Mayflies have 3. This piece of information was a game changer for me because it helped me know if I should put on a Stonefly imitation like a Copper John or a Pheasant Tail. To recap - what makes the Mirco Golden Stonefly “the fly of the month” going into April is because it is very realistic to the actual golden stone nymph, the lighter pale yellow color, the epoxy back giving that armor look, the life like segmented body and the “turkey biot” used for the legs which pushes the water and grabs fish’s attention this is definitely one of the most realistic Stonefly patterns around and a deadly pattern to use the next few months. No matter what river you are on, if you live in the West, right now this is going to be a go-to attractor, fished in a size 14 or 16 you will have a great chance at enticing some big, eager fish and a nice break from using some more “standard” attractor patterns coming out of Winter! Good luck and if you don’t believe me take it from Discount Flies patron Brian m. who said “This is definitely one for everybody's box. I have been using on the Crooked and Deschutes to deadly effect. Have used it as the first, second or third nymph and has brough good numbers to the hook. Gave one to the gentleman that was down river of me and not hooking anything as I was pounding them. He tied it on as the dropper and proceeded to catch two fish pretty quick. I just ordered a grip more. Give it a shot, it will not fail ya.”

Happy Fishing!!