The Stimulator is a

dry fly Dry fly fishing is an angling technique in which the Fishing lure, lure is an artificial fly which floats on the surface of the water and does not sink below it. It was developed originally for trout fly fishing. The fish and the dry fly Fly fishi ...

popularized by angler, fly tyer and author Randall Kaufmann to imitate large adult stoneflies.

Origin

The Stimulator pattern is a derivative of earlier stonefly patterns—the Improved Sofa Pillow (1940s) and Yellow-bellied Mattress Trasher (1970s). Many anglers believe the name ''Stimulator '' was given to the pattern by Jim Slattery, a Montana angler who renamed his '' Fluttering Stonefly '' pattern. Others contend the pattern was derived from the ''Trude '' style dry flies developed in 1903. However, the pattern was clearly popularized and promoted by Randall Kaufmann, a fly shop owner, angler and author in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR in the 1980s.

Imitates

Originally tied to imitate large stoneflies, the Stimulator is also useful to imitate adult caddis,

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

s and large

mayflies Mayflies (also known as shadflies or fishflies in Canada and the upper Midwestern United States, as Canadian soldiers in the American Great Lakes region, and as up-winged flies in the United Kingdom) are aquatic insects belonging to the order ...

Materials

* Hook: 3X Long Curved Dry Fly Size 6-18 * Thread: 6/0 or 140 denier matching color to pattern * Tail: Elk, Deer or Moose hair * Body: Dry fly dubbing matching color to pattern * Ribbing: Short dry fly hackle palmered, typically grizzly or brown * Wing: Deer or Elk hair * Thorax: Dry fly dubbing matching color to pattern * Hackle: Dry fly hackle, typically grizzly or brown

Variations

As described in ''Fly Patterns--Tie Thousands of Flies'' (2008), Randall and Mary Kaufmann * Crystal Stimulator (Black, Gold, Green, Orange Peacock, Pearl, Royal Cerise, Tan, Yellow) * Kaufmann's Stimulator (Green, Orange, Yellow) * Kaufmann's Stimulator RL (Rubber Legs), (Gray, Lime, Orange, Pearl, Royal, Tan, Yellow)

Notes

{{Fly fishing Dry fly patterns