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Instructions
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Note 1: Feelers are the same as the tail but may be omitted. Best
color combinations are brown/yellow; green/yellow; black/gray. Vary number of strands of yarn to suit hook size. Colors for
thorax, wing case, and palmered hackle should coordinate with dark color of braided body, i.e., medium brown or
tan for brown/yellow; light olive for green/yellow; light gray for black/gray.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR BRAIDED BODY
If you need a sample fly, drop me an e-mail.
I find this technique of braiding the body much easier than weaving. I
use it for stonefly patterns of various colors, ranging in size from 6 to 16.
I use Mustad 79580 hooks but any long
shank, 2x-3x should work.
1. Put hook in vise and lay down thread base along shank.
2. Use embroidery yarn. Color combination I use are brown and yellow; green and yellow, black and gray, gold and
pale yellow. Same technique can be down with swannundaze or larva lace but not in the very small sizes.
For the remainder of instructions, assume brown and yellow, and a size 6 or 8 hook.
3. Tie in a pair of brown goose biots for the split tail. Wrap with lead wire in upper body and beginning of thorax
area. Advance thread to front of thorrax area.
4. Tie in a 7" piece of brown embroidery yarn along the side of the hook extending from the tie in point back to the
biots tie in. Wrap thread tightly from front to back and back to front to hold yarn along the side.
5. Repeat this procedure with 7" piece of yellow embroidery yarn on other side of hook. You should now have two
pieces of yarn about 5-1/2 - 6 inches long hanging down at biot tie in point.
6. I now use a pair of pliers and flatten the lead wire. This gives the wide body stonefly look.
7. Tie off and cut thread.
8. Turn the vise so the eye of the hook is pointing straight at you. Now begins the braiding.
9. With the yarn under the hook, take a strand of yarn in each hand and make a simple granny knot ALWAYS
wrapping the light color over the dark color.
10. Gently push the dark color back through the knot to form a small loop and slide the loop over the hook eye.
Move the knot back to the tie in point and pull the strands straight out from the sides of the hook shank.
(The granny knot is now around the hook shank with the dark color on top and the light color on the bottom and the
transition twist on the side.)
11. Repeat the granny knot routine (ALWAYS light over dark and dark loop over top of hook).
Work your way up the hook shank toward the eye. Stop as you get into thorax area.
12. Turn vise back to normal position. Reattach thread, tie of yarn and trim excess yarn.
13. Tie in turkey wing section for wing case. Tie in brown saddle hackle feather to palmer over fur thorax.
Use tan fur or wool dubbing and build a nice fat thorax. Palmer feather over thorax, about 3-4 turns.
14. I use goose biots for feelers and tie them in now.
15. Trim off hackle on top of fly. Pull turkey section over the top and tie off. Cement
head.
Note: Most embroidery yarn comes in 5 strand which I use for sizes 4, 6, 8. Remove a strand or two or three as the
hook sizes get smaller. Also, as option you can simply use a couple of the fibers of the turkey wing case section as
the feelers.
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