Pat's Rubber Legs
Pat's Rubber Legs is chenille and rubber legs pretending to be a stonefly nymph - and in every big western river it out-fishes anatomically correct patterns by embarrassing margins.
Stonefly nymphs live years in the drift, so trout see them constantly - and the imitation that wins isn't the museum-grade replica but this: a woven chenille cigar with round rubber legs that QUIVER in current. Guides call it 'the turd' with deep affection; it anchors a great many Montana nymph rigs.
What it imitates
Golden and salmonfly stonefly nymphs - big, dark, crawling protein - rendered as silhouette plus leg-wiggle, the two things that matter.
When & where it wins
Big freestone rivers year-round (stones are always present), spiking before the salmonfly/golden hatches of early summer as nymphs migrate shoreward.
How to fish it
Deep dead-drift as the anchor of a two-fly rig - it's heavy, it's the point fly; bounce banks and buckets. Pre-hatch, fish it tight to shore where migrating nymphs crawl.
Sizes & variants
4-10 in black, brown, coffee-and-black variegated; add a bead when unweighted versions won't get down.
Tying notes
Chenille + stretch-floss legs on a long hook with lead wraps - a five-minute tie whose legs do all the talking.
What makes this fly fail
Fishing it small and polite (stoneflies are BIG - commit), skipping bank water pre-hatch, and rig-tangling it with another heavy fly.
Kit for fishing flies
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