Straight From the Fly Bench
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Bead head Coppertone Golden Stone
One of the most prolific aquatics to populate the Trinity River is the Golden Stone. They are easily identified by their golden-olive color, flat elongated body profile (size range #6-8-10-12's) and as their name implies, generally favor well oxygenated rock bottoms associated with faster moving riffle waters. Several varieties (Calineuria-hesperoperla) populate the river, and without splitting hairs, can be identified by size, color and generation hatch time frames. Late winter-spring and as late as early summer. While the adult stage can trigger some exciting surface feeding activity, the nymph stage is without a doubt the most important stages to key in. Their year round availability, large size (compared to other stream aquatics) represents a mouthful-key bread and butter to steelhead, rainbow and brown trout. There are numerous Golden Stone fly patterns and the Trinity Fly Shop inventories a wide variety of popular patterns as well as many of our own, fashioned for Trinity waters. A long time favorite that works remarkable well throughout the entire year on all fish is our "Beadhead Coppertone Golden Stone. The pattern is a bit time consuming and involves several steps but simple enough for most tiers to accomplish. The bead is an attractor and gets the pattern down. Color tones represent the aquatic; the copper mylar ribbing adds flash and cuts through turbid waters to help broadcast appearance. The rubber-legs do the dance that adds motion and life to the pattern; simulating stubborn cold water steelhead. While the overall appearance may not be as attractive as other conventional steelhead patterns, it has a lot going for it---Success!
Beadhead Coppertone Golden Stone
Hook - TMC 5262 (4-6-8-10-12- Thread - Danville (6/0) Gold/Olive
- Head - Gold Bead (3/16-5/32-1/8)
- Tail- Goose biots (Gold/Olive)
- Body - Buggy nymph (Gold Stone)
- Legs - Sili-legs (Pumpkin Black flake)
- Ribbing - Copper braid mylar
- Thorax - Buggy nymph/Brown hackle
- Wing Case - Mottled Turkey quill