Artistic view of a Male Pteronarcys californica (Pteronarcyidae) (Giant Salmonfly) Stonefly Adult from the Gallatin River in Montana

Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica

The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.

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Female Sweltsa borealis (Boreal Sallfly) Stonefly Adult Female Sweltsa borealis (Boreal Sallfly) Stonefly Adult

Lateral view of a Female Sweltsa borealis (Chloroperlidae) (Boreal Sallfly) Stonefly Adult from Harris Creek in Washington

I was not fishing, but happened to be at an unrelated social event on a hill above this tiny creek (which I never even saw) when this stonefly flew by me. I assume it came from there. Some key characteristics are tricky to follow, but process of elimination ultimately led me to Sweltsa borealis. It is reassuringly similar to this specimen posted by Bob Newell years ago. It is also so strikingly similar to this nymph from the same river system that I'm comfortable identifying that nymph from this adult. I was especially pleased with the closeup photo of four mites parasitizing this one.

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27" brown trout, my largest ever. It was the sub-dominant fish in its pool. After this, I hooked the bigger one, but I couldn't land it.

Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

tying leaders what fun!

IEatimago
Spring Mills, PA

Posts: 97

IEatimago on Jul 21, 2007July 21st, 2007, 2:35 pm EDT

i never new tying a leaders could be so much fun, i just recenlty started and i think this will improve alot of things for me, i have read some things on george harvey formula's .
i fish a 7.6' 3 weight does anyone have any leader formulas that would be 7 and 1/2 feet tht i could try or just anything really im intrested in trying out all manner of things.

Martinlf

Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 3047

Martinlf on Jul 21, 2007July 21st, 2007, 5:11 pm EDT

Check out Joe Humphrey's books. I believe he has some shorter leader formulas in one of them. Also either E.J. Hille or Hook and Hackle have some leader formulas on a website.

"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell

JOHNW

Chambersburg, PA

Posts: 452

JOHNW on Jul 22, 2007July 22nd, 2007, 4:36 am EDT

What tippet do you want to end with?
The 7'6" leaders I tie pretty much start like this 36" of .02, 18" of .017, 6" of .013, .010, and .008 and ending with 18+" of .006 for a 5x tippet. This is pretty much my general purpose leader and I'll add or subtract streamside as I carry a spool of everything from 0x-8x.
JW

"old habits are hard to kill once you have gray in your beard" -Old Red Barn

GONZO
Site Editor
"Bear Swamp," PA

Posts: 1681

GONZO on Jul 22, 2007July 22nd, 2007, 5:06 am EDT

Jasen,

Here are a couple of interesting "oldie-but-goodie" McClane tapers you can play around with (you might want to adjust these for a thinner tippet):

"a short, fast taper for small streams or casting into strong headwinds": 25" of .017, 25" of .015, 10" of .013, 10" of .011, 10" of .009, 20" of .008.

"a double-taper that can be used by anyone without alteration": 12" of .015, 6" of .016, 6" of .017, 12" of .018, 12" of .017, 12" of .015, 12" of .013, 12" of .011, 12" of .009, 15" of .008.

In general, because the butt dimensions are a critical starting point and the stiffness of the material (rather than just its diameter) should be taken into account, you might want to make sure the starting diameter/stiffness of your material works well with your 3 weight line. The standard way to do this is with a "flex test." Grab either side of the line/leader butt junction about three or four inches apart, bend it into an arc, and rock it back and forth. This should reveal if diameter/stiffness is well matched to the line. If not, adjust the butt diameter accordingly.

IEatimago
Spring Mills, PA

Posts: 97

IEatimago on Jul 22, 2007July 22nd, 2007, 6:12 am EDT

this is great, thank you fellows.

Shawnny3
Moderator
Pleasant Gap, PA

Posts: 1197

Shawnny3 on Jul 28, 2007July 28th, 2007, 2:11 am EDT

That's a really good tip about matching the line and leader butt, Gonzo. I'll have to try that one.

-Shawn

Jewelry-Quality Artistic Salmon Flies, by Shawn Davis
www.davisflydesigns.com