On The Fly
Clark’s Rogue Stone
The fly this month is a salmon fly that I call the ‘Clark’s Rogue Stone”. It’s a ‘Clark Stone’ that I’ve tweaked over the last 8 years. I use orange macramé cord to wrap the body. I wasn’t happy with the elk hair wing so I finally settled on moose body hair. The next change came with a foam body, making it float better and giving it more durability. After actually observing the live flies on the water, I found that the females that fell in (or were blown in) with their egg sacks intact were taken much faster than the males or the females with no egg sacks, so then I added the black egg sack. After much use by clients and friends, I found that the fly worked quite well, BUT, it was too dark to see in the riparian zone. So came the added white strike indicator (for lack of a better term).
Hook: #4-#6, 4xlong. My preference is Daichi 2220. Use whatever brand of dry fly hook you like, just don’t’ use too heavy of wire. That said, lots of folks have caught steelhead and quite large trout on dry flies. Don’t have your heart broken by weak hooks or leaders.
Thread: 6/0 – 8/0 orange
Egg sack: Black 1/8” evazote foam
Body: Orange 1/8” evazote foam
Rib: Better said, a segmentation & strengthening of the same tying thread
Underwing: Macramé cord, orange or rust, separated into single sections. Or you can get Lee Clark’s yarn. It doesn’t need to be separated and I can help your favorite fly shop get it, if needed, as Lee is a very close friend of mine. This is the cheapest and best way to buy it if you are going to only tie a couple dozen a year. Same material
Overwing: Moose body hair
Strike indicator: Same material as underwing, but in white
Hackle: Brown & grizzly saddle hackle
Head: Orange thread.
*Note – I would love to work with anyone wanting some help with this fly. I will be available after I return from the Ellensburg, WA show the 1st weekend of May. Just get 2-4 people together and we’ll work out a day and time to get together. As always, it’s a free class for members, $35 for non-members, which pays for your RFF membership.
