The 2022 German Fly Tying Championship 

In cooperation with EWF I have made a the step by step tying instructions for ‘Clarke’s Floating Stone’ the pattern for the 2022 German Fly Tying Competition. If I find time I will also make a video, of this pattern and post it here. In the meantime this should be enough to get you started.

Clarke’s Floating Stonefly pattern

• Hook: Mustad C53 # 6 Or a Daiichi 1270
• Tying thread: Sheer 14/0 Olive
• Tails: 2 Olive brown Goose biots
• Body: Moose mane hair two brown one Olive Or two stripped hackle stems one light one dark
• Wings: 2 Coq De Leon hackles tied wonder wing style
• Over wing: Coq De Leon fibres
• Thorax: Olive brown dubbing
• Hackle: Grizzle dyed brown
• Eyes: Melted plastic 
• Antenna: Moose body hairs Or two dark stripped hackle stems tips

Clarke’s Floating Stonefly – step by step

1.Secure your hook in the vice with the hook shank horizontal.

2.Run a foundation of tying thread along the hook shank as shown.

3.Tie in two olive/ brown goose biots for the tail.

4.Tie the biots down along the whole length of the abdomen. This will help build up the under body.

5.Tie in the three moose mane hairs tight into the tail base. Using your tying thread wrap a slight taper on the body finishing at the abdomen with your tying thread.

6.Now wrap the moose mane hairs over the abdomen. Take care to keep the hair parallel so they don’t twist over each other. Make a small amount of dubbing on the thorax as the wing base.

7.Select two large Whiting CDL hackles of the same size.

8.Strip away all the downy barbules from the base of the hackles. Trim off the thickest part of the hackle stem.

9.You will now need a UV resin bottle nozzle, cut 3mm or so from the end of the nozzle so the opening is large enough for the CDL hackle to pass through it.

10.Towards the tip of the CDL hackle fold back the barbules as shown to form the first wonder wing.

11.Now feed the hackle into the nozzle as shown, this will help hold the hackle in place when tying it in.

12.Tie in the first wing at a slight angle. It helps here if you apply a little tying wax to your thread.

13.Now you can carefully cut away the CDL hackle stem, taking care to leave all the other CDL fibres over the hook eye.

14.Now repeat the wing procedure and tie in the second wing.

15.You can now carefully trim away the excess CDL fibres from the wing tips, then wrap your thread forward too a position just behind the hook eye.

16.Fold all the CDL fibres back over the wonder wings to form the over wing as shown. Tie down.

17.You will now need a little black melt glue to make the eyes.

18.Take a short piece of monofilament and slightly burn the end. Cut a tiny piece of black melt glue and stick it on the end of the monofilament.

19.Using a lighter carefully melt the glue with a lighter to form the eye. Repeat and make the second eye. Place to one side for later.

20.Take two moose body hairs and tie these in over the thorax for the antenna.

21.Tie in the eyes one at a time on each side of the hook eye.

22.Select a brown dyed grizzle hackle and tie in tight to the over wing.

23.Take a pinch of a natural spiky brown/olive dubbing and dub the thorax, forward towards the eyes.

24.Wrap your hackle in tight even turns over the thorax fishing tight behind the eyes. Tie off the hackle.

25.Trim away the surplus hackle, whip finish and give the head a drop of varnish, to finish off – Clarke’s Floating Stone. 

26.Birds eye view.