09/03/2026
Stoneflies are one of the coolest bugs out there. They spend years of their life underwater and when they are fully mature, they come out of the water onto dry rocks and shuck their final exoskeleton, emerging as a winged terrestrial. These adults fly around and live for a days up to a few weeks — focusing on mating + reproduction during this stage of their life.
These exoskeletons that we find on rocks can help us pick out which nymphs and dry files we should be fishing with that can potentially lead to landing those big trout we all have our hearts set on catching.
Here’s how:
Use a stonefly nymph that is similar to the size (and color) of the shuck you see on the rock - or for those dry fly fanatics like myself, grab a chubby in a similar size to the shuck to mimic the winged terrestrial stage.
If you told 20 year old me that I’d become a bug nerd, I probably wouldn’t have believed you, but here I am absolutely addicted to bugs and stoked on learning as much as I possibly can about them. Any other bug nerds out there with some cool tips?!