THE SHAMWARI STIMMIE:
Everyone knows what a Stimulator is and how effective of a dry fly it can be. This tweak of the over wing by our in house tyer, Raymond Mutemeri, created a new version of an age old pattern, which has become the top of the Mavungana Flyfishing boxes for Yellowfish on the Vaal and Trout around the country.
Switching the elk or deer hair for the spade feathers of CDC did three things. It created a much more subtle wing imprint on the water and increased the buoyancy of the Stimulator, making this the perfect dry for fishing a Dry and Dropper setup on the slower sections of the Vaal River. It has shown with the softer wing that fish, especially at Sterkfontein, reacted better to the fly; and when aggressively popped it has tricked some wily old trout into explosive eats on the stillwaters of Dullstroom. Lastly, using the white CDC means you can see it from outer space, but it doesn't spook the fish.
An age-old pattern refreshed with subtlety and science. A must have for the upcoming autumn yellowish and winter trout seasons. If you would like to order a dozen Shamwari Stimmies, get hold of Raymond or Brendan at our Illovo store and place an order today. For those of you who would like to tie the pattern yourself, we’ve included a step by step of how Raymond ties this pattern.
Step 1:
Lay your thread foundation and tie in the deer hair tail.
Step 2:
Tie in your copper wire and dub your thread with your chosen dubbing. We would recommend opting for something natural and buggy.
Step 3:
Tie in a single grizzly dry fly hackle at the tail, once you've dubbed your body, wrap the hackle forward over the body, and secure it with your thread. To add ribbing, and secure your hackle from unraveling, wrap your copper wire forward as well.
Step 4:
Select two CDC features of your choice and colour, white being the most visible while still maintaining a natural look. Tie these in as the wing just in-front of the body, leaving room for the legs and thorax.
Step 5:
Tie in another grizzly hackle as well as your legs. One rubber leg on each side of the fly, trimming to your desired length. Select another colour dubbing, usually orange is chosen here. Dub between the legs and keep wrapping forward past the legs. The second last step is the wrap your hackle forward, starting behind the legs with your first wrap, and ending jest before the hook eye.
Step 6:
Cut your hackle, finish off with a couple more thread wraps and whip finish. You've just tied your first Shamwari Stimmie!
We've included a picture of the materials Raymond used for this version, but you can change the size and colours for your next trip and target species as you desire.
Visit our online store, or pop into either our Sandton or Dullstroom shop for a cup of coffee and our expert tyers will help you select the materials you need!
