How to tie: a Royal Stimulator

With: RiverKeeper Flies

The Royal Stimulator features a vibrant peacock body with contrasting red floss and a robust hackle, making it an excellent choice for a variety of fishing conditions.

Materials:

• Hook: Daiichi 1270, Size 10

• Thread: Fire Orange Danville 6/0

• Tail: Yearling elk hair

• Rib: Fine gold wire (Danville)

• Body: Peacock herl, red floss

• Hackle: Brown neck (Size 16 for Size 10 hook), Grizzly hackle

• Dubbing: Angora goat

Instructions:

1. Prepare the Hook:

   • Secure the Daiichi 1270 Size 10 hook in the vise.

   • Start by wrapping the shank with Fire Orange Danville thread behind the hook eye.

   • Trim excess thread and secure with several wraps.

2. Tail:

   • Select a small bunch of yearling elk hair. Clean out the underfur.

   • Measure the hair to be about the length of the hook gap and trim.

   • Tie in the elk hair with soft, even wraps, making sure it extends beyond the hook by the desired length.

3. Body Preparation:

   • Attach a piece of fine gold wire to the far side of the hook with a soft wrap.

   • Bind down almost to the tie-in point.

   • Select and trim three pieces of peacock herl to about 1 inch. Use a hackle plier to twist them together, making soft wraps around the hook.

4. Adding Floss:

   • Tie in single-strand red Uni floss on the far side of the hook.

   • Wrap the floss smoothly back to the peacock herl, using touching turns. Trim any excess floss and secure with thread wraps.

5. Ribbing:

   • Use the gold wire to rib the body. Make open spirals, working from the back to the front, and secure with thread wraps.

6. Hackle:

   • For the hackle, use a Brown neck hackle (Size 16). Strip the fibers from the base and tie in by the stem.

   • Wrap the hackle forward in open spirals, ensuring even distribution.

7. Wing:

   • Select calf tail fibers, clean out the underfur, and hand-stack them to align the fibers.

   • Tie in the calf tail with two soft wraps, securing it on top of the hook.

   • Trim the calf tail at an angle to blend smoothly with the body and tail.

8. Dubbing:

   • Apply a thin layer of Angora goat dubbing to the thread. Twist and apply in touching turns from the hook eye back to just before the wing.

   • Trim any excess dubbing.

9. Finishing Touches:

   • Wrap the grizzly hackle forward, making about five turns.

   • Secure with thread and trim excess hackle.

   • Whip finish the head with touching turns, making sure to tidy up any stray fibers.

10. Final Steps:

    • Trim the hackle fibers to achieve a neat finish.

    • Inspect the fly to ensure all components are secure and evenly distributed.