How to Tie a Pat’s Rubber Leg Stonefly

Producer: Fly Fish Food

Lance Egan: “Pat’s Rubber Legs is a well-known stonefly nymph pattern. I think this fly has become popularized for two reasons: It’s easy to tie, and it is very effective.   I’ve tied and tried many stonefly nymphs in an effort to find a go-to pattern. Pat’s Stone is it. Simple, yet very effective.

This version is varied slightly to accommodate euro nymphing so it features a weighted body and a tungsten bead. This fly was featured in the video Modern Nymphing and uses a small size of variegated chenille that is very hard to find. We call it Stonefly Chenille. Stonefly Chenille is perfect for smallish stonefly imitations like golden and skwala stonefly nymphs.  Anyway, forget all those ultra realistic imitations that take an hour to tie. Get a Pat’s Stone down deep and let the fish have some lunch. Err, maybe some exercise 🙂

Keep your Stonefly nymphs thin. They will fish better if they’ve been on a diet. Most patterns are way too fat. I’m confident you’ll find (as I have) that stones are most effective when tied thin.”