Stimulator

Randall Kaufmann's attractor. Stonefly or hopper imitation.

Printed on the 10 of hearts

The Stimulator is the workhorse of western summer dry fly fishing. It is large enough to be worth a trout's attention, buoyant enough to ride heavy pocket water and to suspend a weighted nymph beneath it, and visible enough that you can actually fish it in glare and fading light. Very few flies do all three jobs at once.

Its imprecision is deliberate. In orange it reads as a salmonfly or golden stone; in yellow as a big caddis or a small hopper; in olive as almost anything terrestrial that has fallen in. On rough freestone water, where a trout has a moment to decide before the food is gone, that generality is worth more than exact imitation.

This is also the fly that makes dry-dropper fishing practical. A #10 Stimulator will hold a beadhead nymph on eighteen inches of tippet without drowning, which means you are effectively fishing two depths at once while still getting the pleasure of watching a dry fly disappear.

What does a Stimulator imitate?

Adult stoneflies, large caddis and hoppers.

How do you fish a Stimulator?

Fish it aggressively — pound the banks, the pocket water, the foam lines, the seams behind rocks. Do not be precious about drift on rough water. An occasional twitch helps.

When should you fish a Stimulator?

Summer, particularly during and after stonefly hatches, and any time you want to search unfamiliar water quickly.

What are the quick tips for fishing it?

• Orange for salmonfly and golden stone season; yellow the rest of summer.
• The best all-round dry-dropper anchor there is — start at #10.
• Fish it tight to the bank. Really tight. Closer than that.

How is a Stimulator tied?

• Hook: 3XL dry fly, #8-#16
• Thread: orange or yellow 6/0
• Tail: elk hair
• Abdomen: orange or yellow dubbing, palmered with brown hackle
• Thorax: amber dubbing, palmered with grizzly hackle
• Wing: elk hair

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