Parks' Salmonfly is a traditional dry fly imitating adults of the family of giant stoneflies or salmonflies (

Pteronarcyidae The Pteronarcyidae, also known as giant stoneflies or salmonflies, are a family of the order Plecoptera. Natural history Two genera of Pteronarcyidae are found; ''Pteronarcys'' is found in all of North America, while ''Pteronarcella'' is f ...

). The most commonly imitated species is

Pteronarcys californica ''Pteronarcys californica'' is a species of insect in the family Pteronarcyidae, the giant stoneflies and salmonflies. It is known commonly as a salmonfly.Parks' Fly Shop in

Gardiner, Montana Gardiner is a unincorporated community in Park County, Montana, United States, along the 45th parallel. As of the 2020 census, the population of the community and nearby areas was 833. Gardiner was officially founded in 1880. The area has s ...

is the ''Parks' Salmon Fly'', an improved version of the old ''Sofa Pillow'' used to imitate the giant stoneflies or ''Salmon Flies'' on the

Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains a ...

and its tributaries. In 1954, Merton Parks found the older imitations of the giant stonefly unsuitable and created the ''Parks Salmon Fly''. The fly remains popular and in use still today. Charles Brooks, a master Yellowstone fly fisherman, called the ''Parks' Salmon Fly'' one of his top three stonefly imitations.

Imitates

The Parks' Salmonfly imitates an adult salmonfly (''Pteronarcys californica''), a species of giant stonefly common in higher-velocity streams and rivers, on medium to large-sized unconsolidated substrates. Salmonflies are found across western North America from California to British Columbia and throughout the Rocky Mountains. Jewett, S. G., Jr. "Plecoptera." In: ''Aquatic Insects of California'', Usinger, R. L. (Ed.) 155-181, Berkeley, University of Nebraska Press. On the

and southwest

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

where the Parks' Salmonfly originated, adult salmonflies typically emerge in late June through July.

Trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

aggressively feed on adults that fall in the water.

Materials

Adult salmonflies are large insects up to long, so imitations are tied on large, long hooks. Size 6 is the most common but they can be tied on size 2-8 2X long hooks. Merton Parks improved on the original Sofa Pillow by replacing the red floss body with the more bulky and buoyant acrylic yarn in tangerine–a color closer to the living insect. The quill tail and fox squirrel tail wing were replaced with bulkier brown bucktail. The tail, body, wing and hackle are all tied very bulky to create a large profile on the water.

Variations

Elk mane can be substituted for the bucktail. Smaller versions of the fly (size 6–10) tied with lighter bucktail, ginger hackle and yellow yarn are used to imitate Golden stoneflies ('' Hesperoperla and Calineuria'').

Notes

{{fisheries and fishing Dry fly patterns

Imitates

Materials

Variations

See also

Notes