FLY
Dry Fly
Stimulator
Tied by Mark Lucas
Stimulator recipe
| Hook | Firehole 718 all purpose size 10 |
|---|---|
| Thread | UTC 140d black |
| Tail | Elk body hair (natural) |
| Abdomen | Superfine dry fly dubbing (pale morning dun) |
| Rib | UTC ultra wire copper size BR |
| Body Hackle | Whiting Farms dry fly hackle (brown) |
| Wing | Elk body hair (natural) |
| Thorax | Arizona similar seal (steelhead orange) |
| Hackle | Whiting Farms dry fly hackle (grizzly) |
| Head | Thread UTC 140d black |
Where the Stimulator came from
- Originated by Jim Slattery, 1980, Musconetcong River, New Jersey. First tied as the "Fluttering Stonefly", built on the Sofa Pillow; renamed after a NYC punk band. Original had thorax and abdomen near equal length, unstacked hair wing.Source: Slattery's own account; widely repeated (Field & Stream 25 Greatest Flies)
- Originated by Randall Kaufmann, 1980, Deschutes River, Oregon. Kaufmann says it descends from "Hank's Special," found by Rick Verheghe in a fly bin at Oregon's Oasis Cafe and fished on the Deschutes in 1980; he refined it, and says no one else had any part in designing or naming it.Source: Kaufmann's own account, Umpqua Feather Merchants: Stimulator (Kaufmann's)
- Derived from Hank's Special, 1980, Oasis Cafe, Oregon. Kaufmann's account traces the fly to this pattern; Slattery's traces it to the Sofa Pillow.Source: Kaufmann's own account, Umpqua Feather Merchants: Stimulator (Kaufmann's)
- Named by David Lambroughton, 1981. Per Kaufmann, the angler-photographer suggested the name in a 1981 conversation. Slattery's account instead says he named it after the NYC punk band the Stimulators.Source: Kaufmann's own account, Umpqua Feather Merchants: Stimulator (Kaufmann's)
- Described by Randall Kaufmann, 1982. First appeared in the Streamborn catalog in 1982 per Kaufmann.Source: Kaufmann's own account (first in the Kaufmann's Streamborn catalog, 1982); later in Kaufmann, Tying Dry Flies (1991)
- Popularized by Randall Kaufmann, Kaufmann's Streamborn, Oregon. Refined the proportions (stacked wing, longer abdomen) and popularized it nationally; often credited as originator, which Slattery disputes.Source: Commonly credited in shop catalogs and tying manuals
- Derived from Sofa Pillow. The Stimulator descends from Pat Barnes's Sofa Pillow.Source: Both Slattery and Kaufmann accounts
Where sources tell it differently, each account is listed with its own source.
Inside the vault every material on this fly opens to its own card, and you can save the fly to your own boxes.
