There aren’t many patterns of mine that I would say work better than just about any other for a particular hatch or insect. 

But Skwalla McTwitchy aka The Bacon-Nater when not tied for a specific bug, is one of those patterns.  The recipe is at the end. 

This pattern is based on a simple Stimi based dry tied Parachute Style. But the poly yarn underwing holds floatant very well, the moose hair wing floats as good as foam without the non natural look of foam. 

The hi via parachute is over hackled for more floatation as well. The body can be tied in just about any color or dubbin type you can think of. I like full ice dub bodies for summer time in multiple colors, and I like hares ear ice dub blends when I’m going for more specific colors to match a hatch. I also tie them with no flash or ice dub for when conditions and trout call for subtle flies. 

The legs are whatever strips of rubber you have lying around. I tie the body like I would a Pats Stone.  The legs are the important part. This pattern is for stoneflies and grasshoppers. But mainly stoneflies. Stoneflies are active on the water surface. 
They skitter and dance, crawl and flutter about the river. Salmon flies like big chinook helicopters beating the air so loud against their heavy bodies you can hear them coming before they get stuck in your beard. Skwallas slow and sleepy as they battle against the cold air, or Golden’s that flutter and cause commotion on the surface as they hatch in the current like a mayfly instead of along the rocks like their cousins. This pattern is all about action. Just like the natural. 

The body and legs of the fly ride low in the meniscus, even in faster or heavier current when floatant is added.  I twitch this fly like crazy, fish that are keyed in on stoneflies are looking for bugs that move, and the strikes during this type of feeding can be intense and violent. It’s wicked fun. These legs that ride low in the water give the desired twitchy effect of a natural stonefly that is doing its thing. Sometimes they fall in and are tryi to get back to shores, other times a female is laying eggs on the surface. No matter what these bugs have action. So does this fly, even with subtle twitches.

So tie some up or order some, and throw some action on those big dry flies when the stones are hatching this season.

Ingredients:

Hopper Hook or long shank Dry fly size 10 or bigger. 

6/0 thread

Rubber legs

Hi Vis Poly Yarn for para post. 

Dubbin of choice

Poly Yarn 

Krystal Flash

Moose Hair

Grizzly or Brown Hackle size matched to hook or one size larger. 

Recipe:

Lay thread base and tie in rubber legs as tails and antenae. 

Tie in your hi vis para post at the 1/3 mark back from the eye. 

Dub the body up toward the para post but leave enough space to tie in wing. 

Tie in 3 strands of Krystal flash V style so 6 strands lay out the back. 

Tie in poly-yarn wing. 

Stack some moose hair and tie in the wing. Trim the hair so that the para post is upright. 

Tie in legs. 

Add Glue then tie in hackle. 

Dub and create a thorax, and rest the thread on the front side of the para post. 

Wrap hackle para style. Heavy. 

Tie down hackle. 

Add small amount of dubbin and create a head.

Whip finish and Boom!
Trout Season Is Coming. 

Tamarack