Yellowstone Foam Salmonfly — a fly pattern by Derek Leavitt

Dry fly · sizes 4–6

Yellowstone Foam Salmonfly

Tied for the salmonfly on the Yellowstone River

Imitates
Salmonfly
When
Jun–Jul
Hook
sizes 4–6
Tippet
1X to 2Xrule of three

From$19.50down to $5.50 a fly

A dry fly in sizes 4-6, tied to imitate the salmonfly hatch on the Yellowstone River and fished for yellowstone cutthroat trout.

  • Hand tied to order, never bin stock
  • Tied on TMC 5212 in sizes 4-6
  • Matched to the salmonfly on a specific piece of water
  • Floats a small dropper

Tied by @dereklea7

At the vise

Pattern
Foam Salmonfly
Style
Dry fly
Hook
TMC 5212, 2XL drysizes 4-6
Thread
Orange 6/0

Materialsin the order they go on the hook

  1. BodyOrange closed-cell foam, two layers
  2. UnderbodyBurnt orange antron dubbing
  3. WingNatural elk hair, bucktail over
  4. HackleBrown saddle, palmered over the thorax
  5. LegsBlack and orange barred rubber
  6. IndicatorYellow foam post

On the water

The longest undammed river left in the lower forty-eight, running out of the park through Paradise Valley.

Two foam layers rather than one: a single strip rolls under a heavy wing and the fly fishes on its side. Tie the legs in before the hackle so the palmering locks them down.

Tight to the bank, hard enough to land with a smack. Salmonflies are clumsy and the eat is a slash, not a sip. Yellowstone River fish see a lot of flies, and the ones that keep working are the ones tied for the water rather than for the bin.

Every fly is tied by hand, one at a time, on the hook listed above. No two are identical and none of them came out of a machine.

Where and when

Water
Yellowstone River, Paradise Valley, Montana
Target
Yellowstone cutthroat trout, Brown trout, Rainbow trout
Water type
Freestone
Also fishes
Every western freestone that gets a salmonfly hatch, and it doubles as a golden stone a size or two down.

The salmonfly on the Yellowstone River

June and July, in sizes 4–6

Also on this water

  • Yellow SallyJul–Aug
  • Mother's Day CaddisApr–May

Fished out of Livingston, Gardiner and Emigrant.

What turns up

  • Your flies in a slim foam box
  • A card with the recipe and the water it was tied for
Lead time
Tied to order, usually within a week
Shipping
Flat $4 shipping, free over $60
If it fails
Fish it. If it falls apart, we replace it.

Goes with it

FLY-YELLOWSTONE-10