Madam X

Hopper/stonefly attractor. Foam, rubber legs. Western classic.

Printed on the 8 of hearts

Madam X is a deceptively plain-looking fly: a deer hair body and wing with an X of rubber legs lashed across the middle. Doug Swisher is generally credited with the design, and it became a Rocky Mountain standard because it does several jobs adequately and one job extremely well.

That job is being noticed. The rubber legs move constantly in any current, and the deer hair keeps the fly riding high in water that would drown a hackled dry. It reads as a hopper, a stonefly, or a large generic terrestrial depending on color and size, and fast-water trout rarely take the time to distinguish.

It is also an excellent dry-dropper anchor, which is how most people now fish it. A yellow Madam X in #10 with a beadhead eighteen inches below covers a summer freestone river about as efficiently as any rig there is.

What does a Madam X imitate?

Hoppers, adult stoneflies and large terrestrials.

How do you fish a Madam X?

Fish it hard against banks and through pocket water, letting it land with some weight. An occasional twitch works the rubber legs and often triggers the eat.

When should you fish a Madam X?

Summer on western freestone rivers, from the tail of the stonefly hatches through the terrestrial season.

What are the quick tips for fishing it?

• Yellow and tan cover most water; carry a royal version for low light.
• A superb dry-dropper anchor — better than it looks.
• Twitch it. The legs are the whole fly.

How is a Madam X tied?

• Hook: 2XL dry fly, #8-#12
• Body: deer hair, pulled and tied down
• Wing: deer hair
• Legs: white or yellow rubber, tied in an X
• Thread: yellow or tan

Dressings vary by tier and region. Treat this as the common recipe, not the only one.