Fishing and Tying the Little Black Stonefly
The Little Black Stonefly is one of the first insects to hatch every late winter/early spring. Sometimes it occurs when there’s still snow on the ground, earning the nickname “the snowflake hatch,” and can provide some of the first surface fishing opportunities here in the Eastern United States. But don’t get too excited yet. There are a few things you should know about stoneflies.
First, while it’s possible to hit a Little Black Stonefly hatch, you’ll rarely encounter them in enough numbers to evoke heavy surface feeding. Most of the time, rises will be sporadic as a handful of stoneflies hit the water at a time. Part of that has to do with their life cycle. Unlike mayflies, which hatch in the water, stoneflies crawl out of the water, climb up on rocks, woody debris, or other structure and shed their nymphal shucks. They then take flight as full-fledged adults.
Stoneflies have two pairs of wings, similar to caddis. Their wings are different from caddis in that they lie flat on top of the stonefly’s body whereas caddis wings are more tent shaped. However, compared to caddis, most stoneflies are poor fliers and tend to stick close to water and nearby foliage.
Little Black Stoneflies can range in size from 14-18. One of the reasons for the size difference is because stoneflies can live multiple years as nymphs before maturing and hatching as adults. Once they’ve hatched, adult stoneflies can live two to three weeks before finding a mate and returning to the water to lay their eggs.
Fishing the Little Black Stonefly
I’ve had some absolutely frustrating days on the water watching more Little Black Stoneflies than I could count go floating downstream without a trout even coming up to sniff them. Part of the reason they went unnoticed could be the time of year in which they hatch and the fact that water temperatures are so cold they often inhibit surface feeding. Another possibility could be that the nymphs are so active and plentiful on the stream bottom that trout would much rather feed on them than come all the way to the surface to eat.
For this reason, once I start seeing a few Little Black Stoneflies in the air or on the banks, I make sure to have some sort of beadhead stonefly nymph, black Hare’s Ear Nymph, or a Black and Chartreuse Sexy Walt somewhere on my rig. These patterns excel in these situations.
But there are times when trout take note of Little Black Stoneflies on the surface, and the feeding can be intense. An excellent indicator that trout are zeroing in on Little Black Stoneflies is if you see rises close to the banks. Many times, as Little Black Stoneflies emerge, they attempt to dry their wings and kick off the bank and plop onto the water. They are not graceful!
Sometimes the soft water right up against a bank can be hard to reach with a drag-free cast. Our instinct is to cast up and let the fly drift down into the strike zone. However, a lot of times, the fly can float right on past where the fish are actually staged and feeding on stoneflies.
If there’s a trout feeding in some slack water up against the far bank, I don’t bother with a drift. I land the fly right in the slack water where the trout is staged. As soon as the fly lands, throw a big upstream mend in the line which will allow the fly to stay in that soft water an extra couple of second before the line pulls it out. This is often long enough to elicit a strike. After all, a trout keying in on stoneflies, is expecting something to drop off the foliage or land in that soft water.
Tying a Little Black Stonefly
Materials needed to tie the Little Black Stonefly dry fly:
Hook: Standard Dry Fly, Model 02 from Wholesale Fly Company.
Thread: 8/0 Black Semperfli Classic Waxed Thread.
Body: Black Superfine Dubbing.
Wing: Natural or Dark Gray Dun CDC.
Hackle: Black.
Despite the fact that it can be tough to hit a great hatch of Little Black Stoneflies that trout are actually feeding on, I do like to have a dry fly imitation on hand. There have been just enough times when the dry fly has produced some really solid days that I don’t want to be without one if the situation calls for it. In the past, I’ve used a black Elk Hair Caddis to get me through those times when I didn’t have a stonefly pattern on me, but the results were always mixed. Yes, I still caught a few fish, but I know an actual stonefly imitation would have caught more.
My favorite Little Black Stonefly dry fly pattern is very easy to tie. Start with a size 14 or 16 standard dry fly hook, such as the Model 02 from Wholesale Fly Company and attach some 8/0 black Semerflie Classic Waxed Thread to the shank.
Use black Hareline Superfine Dry Fly Dubbing for the body and stop about three-quarters of the way up the hook shank. Next, use two plumes of Natural or Dark Gray Dun CDC and align the tips. Tie in so that they angle back and extend slightly out over the bend of the hook. A few turns of black hackle over top of the CDC butts finish off the fly.
I don’t ever expect to hit a Little Black Stonefly hatch, let alone find trout rising to them. It’s just one of those hatches that can’t be predicted. They’re either active or they’re not, it seems. But when you hit it right, with lots of Little Black Stoneflies on the water and eager trout, it can be as thrilling as any other hatch.
Did You Find This Fly Tying Guide Helpful?
Stay up to date with the Dark Skies Fly Fishing monthly newsletter for free and receive the latest posts in fly fishing news, tricks, tips, and techniques, stream reports, as well as updates on new flies added to the Online Store and exclusive discounts!
Sign Up NowHave a fly fishing question you’d like answered? Drop us a line at info@darkskskiesflyfishing.com! If we use your question in a blog post or in the newsletter, we’ll send you a FREE fly box with a dozen of our favorite nymphs and dry flies!