Kaufmann Stones

Golden Stonefly Nymph

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Tying Instructions

1. Attach one piece of 0.030 leadfree wire long the side of the shank starting about 1-2 eyewidths behind the eye. The piece should be trimmed off directly above the crushed barb. Secure the wire piece with thread wraps and wrap back to behind the eye..

2. Secure a second piece of leadfree wire on the other side of the shank in the same manner as the first. By securing these wires separately, you will keep the pieces from drifting to the top or bottom of the shank. Wrap back up to behind the eye and apply Super Glue to the wraps around the leadfree wire.

3. Wrap a third piece of wire around the shank about 8 times starting about midpoint of the shank and finishing about the 80% position. You don’t want to get too close to the eye or you will have problems with dubbing and attaching the wingcases. Thee wingcases will be positioned above these wraps and secured to the shank in front.

4. Select two Turkey Biots and attach just behind the eye on each side. The length of the biots should be about 1/2 the shank length. Secure the tag ends of the biots over the wrapped wire and secure with thread wraps. Wrap the thread back to the bend of the hook. Another application of Super Glue over the wraps won”t hurt.

5. Apply a small ball of dubbing around the shank below the bend of the hook. This will be where the tails are to be positioned.

6. Select two Goose Biots and secure to each side of the shank just in front of the balled dubbing. The biot tails should be equal to the gape of the hook. Wrap the thread up the shank to just behind the wrapped wire.

7. Secure a piece of D-Rib or Vinyl ribbing along the top of the shank behind the wrapped wire. Secure the ribbing along the top of the shank to the tails.

8.Apply some dubbing to the thread and wrap 1-2 times behind the vinyl ribbing, then in front. Twist the dubbing so the it is fairly tight. The abdomen should have a thick taper.

9. Wrap dubbing forward until midway on the wire wraps, about the 70% location. Remember to make the body with a thick taper, keeping the dubbing tightly wound on the thread.

10. Wrap the ribbing forward with spirals that are about twice the thickness of the ribbing itself. Secure with thread wraps in front of the dubbed body over the wire wraps.

11. Apply some additional dubbing over the thorax region, hiding the thread wraps. Bring the thread back to the 60% position and apply additional dubbing in that area. The wingcase will be positioned so that this dubbing will be below it.

12. Treat a turkey feather with fixative and trim out three wingcases, each slightly larger wider than the one before. Place a wingcase section on top of the thorax, fold down the wingcase along the sides, and secure the material with tight wraps behind the eye. Place a few wraps further up the section about midway with wraps not as tight to keep from splitting the material.

13. Apply some additional dubbing covering the thread wraps and building up the thorax.

14. Attach a second wingcase in front of the first one. Secure with tight wraps just behind the eye and place a few looser wraps midway on the wingcase section

15. Apply some more dubbing hiding the thread wraps and building the thorax.

16. Attach the last wingcase securely behind the eye. Applying a drop of Super Glue to the thread wraps will help.

17. Finish with a dubbed head, hiding the thread wraps. Whip finish behind the eye, in front of the antennae..

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	TMC 200R #8-12
Thread	Danville Brown 6/0
Head	Same as body
Weight	0.030 Leadfree wire
Body	Blend of 60% Angora Goat (Ginger, Yellow, Burnt Orange, Kingfisher Blue, Fiery Brown) and 40% Golden-Brown Haretron
Thorax	Blend of 60% Angora Goat (Ginger, Yellow, Burnt Orange, Kingfisher Blue, Fiery Brown) and 40% Golden-Brown Haretron
Antennae	Yellow Tan Turkey Biot
Tail	Amber Goose Biots
Wingcase	Mottled Cinnamon Tip Turkey Feather
Ribbing	Medium Amber Vinyl Ribbing

Randall Kaufmann

Kaufmann Stones

Randall Kaufmann developed the first of the Kaufmann Stonefly nymph patterns around 1973. Rubberlegs were added to his patterns in the early 1990’s. Pattern colors can be brown, olive, tan, golden, and black. Kaufmann developed the pattern mainly to represent the Golden Stonefly, Calineuria californica, and the Salmonfly, Pteronarcys californica which inhabit freestone streams and rivers. During the early summer months, the nymphs tend to crawl towards shore and often become adrift within the current. During this period of time, the trout key on the stonefly nymphs as an excellent food source.

Blended Dubbings

Kaufmann uses a complex blend of dubbing in all his stoneflies. This is important to instilling a lifelike quality to the flies. Blended dubbings are available known as Kaufmann Blends, available in Golden Stone, Brown, and Black. For the Salmonfly, Pteronarcys californica, Kaufmann suggested tying the pattern on a TMC 300 hook sizes 2-6. This is a 6XL, heavy wire streamer hook with a straight shank. Some tiers will bend the shank after the fly is made to give a curved appearance, others have used a TMC 200R hook instead. I prefer the 200R as bending the hook will weaken it after it’s been tempered.

Since there are many black and brown stoneflys that are smaller than the Salmonfly, these pattern colors can also be used on hook sizes, 8-12. The Golden Stone, Calineuria californica , is a dominant stonefly throughout the Sierra. These nymphs are considerably smaller than the Salmonflies and Kaufmann suggests using the TMC 300 or TMC 5263 ( a 3XL Heavy wire Nymph hook) sizes 8-12. Again, the TMC 200R in the same sizes can also be a good alternative.

Three Wingcases

The wingcases have traditionally been Turkey Tail sections in which the section is treated with a lacquer, flexament, or fixative to keep from splitting. I also like to use Swiss Straw. It’s tough, easy to work with, and has a natural looking sheen similar to the actual wingcases. Three wingcases cover the thorax region with the first wingcase positioned so that the points of it meets the halfway postion of the body. The last wingcase needs to be placed so that there is just enough room to create a head.

Vinyl Ribbing

The last component of the Kaufmann Stones that you might have a problem finding is the Swannundaze ribbing that Kaufmann has suggested in his earlier books. This was a popular synthetic ribbing during the 70’s and 80’s but has been replaced with more stretchable products such a V-Rib, D-Rib, or Stretch tubing. The natural stoneflies have 10 segments on their abdomen, so you wrap the ribbing with closely spaced wraps so that there is 6-7 wraps showing on the lower half of the nymph.

Turkey or Goose Biots

Turkey biots are suggested by Kaufmann for both the antennae and the tails. I suggest using the Goose biots for the tail since they are broader and thicker, much like the naturals. The lengths of the tails should be about the hook gape, so Goose biots will be plenty long enough. The antennae should always be the Turkey Biots, however. These should be half the shank length in size, which is a length easily accomplished with the Turkey Biot. They are also thinner and more supple to better imitate the natural than Goose Biots. Beadheads have also been added to this pattern since the 1990’s. It’s a heavily weighted pattern that probably doesn’t need the additional weight of the bead. However, the bead does give the nymph a degree of flash and attraction that might improve the fishability.

Presentation

Salmonfly nymphs will inhabit the stream for 2-4 years and migrate once the water warms to about 50 degrees. The migration will start on the lower reaches of the stream and will work upstream. The nymphs will move during the late afternoon and early evening from the riffles to the shallows and eddies of the shore. During the night, they will crawl onto the rocks and foliage along the stream to emerge from their shucks. During this 4-5 day migration, nymphs often become dislodged into the current. Use a drag-free drift along the feeding lanes. The fly needs to have enough weight to bounce along the bottom.

Beadhead Black Stone, Rubberlegs

Hook	TMC 200R #2-6
Thread	Danville Black 6/0
Head	Same as body
Weight	0.030 Leadfree wire
Body	Blend of 60% Angora Goat (Black, Purple, Claret, Fl. Red, Ginger, Brown, Kingfisher Blue, Burnt Orange) and 40% Black Haretron
Thorax	Blend of 60% Angora Goat (Black, Purple, Claret, Fl. Red, Ginger, Brown, Kingfisher Blue, Burnt Orange) and 40% Black Haretron
Antennae	Black Turkey Biot
Tail	Black Goose Biots
Wingcase	Swiss Straw, Black
Legs	Black Round Rubber

Brown Stone, Rubberlegs

Hook	TMC 200R #4-8
Thread	Danville Black 6/0
Head	Same as body
Weight	0.030 Leadfree wire
Body	Blend of 50% Angora Goat (Black, Purple, Claret, Burnt Orange, Yellow, Brown, Ginger) and 50% Brown Haretron
Body	Blend of 50% Angora Goat (Black, Purple, Claret, Burnt Orange, Yellow, Brown, Ginger) and 50% Brown Haretron
Antennae	Brown Turkey Biot
Tail	Brown Goose Biots
Wingcase	Swiss Straw, Brown
Ribbing	Large Brown Vinyl Ribbing
Legs	Brown Flex Floss