Video: How to Tie a Yellow Sally Stimulator

Editor’s Note: We posted about the history of the Stimulator pattern last August, and it’s interesting enough to repost here:

Most folks think of Randall Kaufmann, famed West Coast angler and shop owner, as the inventor of the Stimulator, but the question seems up for debate. The fly’s true originator may be Jim Slattery, who claims that he first tied the stonefly pattern to fish the Musconetcong River in central New Jersey in 1980. Based on the Sofa Pillow, Slattery’s fly was originally called the Fluttering Stonefly, but he renamed it the Stimulator after a New York City punk-rock group.

Slattery’s Stimulator was a bit different from what we use today. In his version, the thorax and the abdomen were about the same length, and the hair for the wing was not stacked. But the basic shape, contrasting colors, and materials mix were the same. When the Stimulator made it to California, Randall Kaufmann modified it, creating the version we know today, but kept the original name. Whoever can get credit for inventing it, it has become an incredibly popular stonefly imitation and all-around attractor fly.

The Stimulators, a punk-rock band from New York, inspired the pattern’s name.

Because the Stimulator (often known as simply the “Stimmie”) is so buoyant, it works great in broken or fast water, as well as in freestone streams. I have fished it for 25-inch rainbows in Alaska, 18-inch cutthroats on the Yellowstone, and 6-inch brook trout in Vermont mountain streams—and the fish seem to love it everywhere. It’s also a great indicator fly for when you want to fish a nymph as a dropper.

In this video from Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions, Matt Grobert ties his version of the Yellow Sally Stimulator. Note that he chooses to tie the abdomen and thorax in the same color, unlike most versions of the pattern. The way he attaches the materials makes for an elegant fly that’s buggy but still fairly streamlined and compact.

Yellow Sally Stimulator from Tightline Productions on Vimeo.

 

          Yellow Sally Stimulator
          Hook: 3X-long natural-bend hook (e.g. Dai-Riki #270), size 14.
          Thread: Olive, 6/0.
          Egg sac: Bright orange rabbit-fur dubbing.
          Rib: Fine gold wire.
          Abdomen: Bright yellow rabbit-fur dubbing.
          Rear hackle: Yellow hackle.
          Wing: Bleached elk hair, cleaned and stacked.
          Front hackle: Cree or grizzly hackle.
          Thorax: Bright yellow rabbit-fur dubbing.
          Head: Tying thread.