Early Brown Stonefly
14 April 2009
No Comment
Brown and Black Stoneflies are the first bugs of the season for the Northeast. They crawl out of the water on the shoreline only returning to the water to lay their eggs. Most of the bugs seen on the water are laying eggs or oviposting. They become vulnerable to trout at this time. Otherwise, nymph imitations are the most important to fly fishers.
Stonefly Adults have wings which are folded flat to the insect’s body. These are imitated very much like caddis wings and many of the same patterns can be good imitations for both caddis and stones. The most popular stone adult may be the stimulator and uses elk or deer hair for the wing tied in much like the elk hair caddis is. Unlike caddis wings that are “tented” over the body, Stonefly wings lay flat on top of each other. In flight, the stonefly may appear clumsy and slow. This is also in contrast to caddis which fly fast and irradic in most cases.
