Rainy Day Stimulator by Conrad Shirk

Tying Instructions: First tie thread to the shank. Tie on deer hair tail. Then dub on the k-pac and pack it tight to the shank. Next tie on brown hackle and gold foil. Wrap foil forward then tie off. Then palmer the hackle and tie off. Tie on deer hair wings. Tie on grizzly hackle. Then dub on the yellow dubbing and wrap hackle forward. Tie off hackle, create head and finish.

The Story: I developed the idea for this fly after fishing in a small stream that was murky after a light rain. I tied the fly and used it on the same stream under similar conditions and had success. Later I found that it also worked well in lower light when just a little flash is needed. Native trout tend to hit everything that looks like food. This fly has both the look and the flash to attract the attention of the waiting trout. With the thick canopy forest or dark shadow of overhanging rhododendron, and even the low light due to sunset or cloud cover this pattern has been successful.

   Tyer’s notes: I found later that a pattern called the Wickham’s Fancy used the foil body with the hackle palmered. I          believe that it may be a popular English pattern.