Ya, you all know it. So here it is, the Stimulator! Gotta love this fly for the amount of fish that it puts in the net not only for me but I am sure for many anglers out there.
Classic Stimulator 
Golden Badger Stimulator 
Peacock Stimulator 
Olive Stimulator
Take this fly and be creative with it, heck go wild! Remove the body hackle for a “naked” Stimulator. Swap the dubbing for flash. Add legs or wing yarn and by all means, tie it in as many color variations as possible. Do all this but keep the traditional version on the ready as it will always produce.
Step By Step Classic Stimi on a Firehole hook:
Firehole 718 Size 16 
Veevus 10/0 Orange 
Thread locked on hook
Set the hook in tying vise and start the thread using locking wraps. I like to start my thread about where I want my abdomen and thorax to meet.
Hareline bleached elk hair 
Combing out underfur 
Measuring tail 
Tail secured
Using some Elk or Deer Hair select a small clump and clean out thoroughly. Measure the length of the tail to be about the same as the hook gape. Secure on top on the rear of the hook.
UTC Ultra Wire XS Gold 
Wire secured in place
Tie in your ribbing wire and secure back until ready to rib the fly and secure the body hackle.
Superfine dubbing tan 
Dubbing noodle 
Body dubbed
Using some superfine dubbing to help with buoyancy, dub a small dubbing noodle and cover the entire body of the fly.
Brown Keough Saddle Hackle 
Measuring hackle 
Hackle prepared to be tied in 
Hackle secured 
Hackle palmered with wire wrapped over top 
Pulling out trapped barbels 
Ready for thorax
Measure and prep body hackle. Tie in at the front of the abdomen behind the thorax and palmer reward towards the wire. Secure the hackle by counter wrapping the wire frontwards over top. Secure the wire behind the thorax.
Cleaning Elk Hair 
Measuring wing 
Secured elk hair wing
Using the same elk hair as the tail select a much larger clump, prep, and tie in. Measure the wing to be slightly shorter than the tail. When tying this clump down try and avoid the elk hair flaring out too much like you would when tying an elk hair caddis. You want this wing to lay a bit flatter on the body.
Grizzly Saddle Hackle 
Hackle prepped 
Amber Superfine Dubbing 
Dubbing noodle 
Dubbed Thorax
Select a hackle feather, prep, and tie in at the back of the thorax. Using more superfine dubbing, create a small dubbing noodle and dub the thorax. Create a slight taper when doing so. Palmer the hackle over top and capture off. Whip finish fly!
Finished Firehole 718 Stimulator (Right side) 
Finished Firehole 718 Stimulator (Left Side)
Recipe:
- Hook: Firehole 718 8 – 16
- Thread: Veevus 10/0
- Tail and wing: Bleached Elk Hair
- Body: Superfine Dubbing
- Hackle: Brown and Grizzly Cape
