Dry FliesGrillos's Low Rider
Grillos's Low Rider is an innovative stonefly pattern designed by Anthony Grillo that sits low in the surface film with its abdomen penetrating through the water. This realistic design features a foam back and head for floatation, a sparkly Ice Dub body, barred rubber legs for lifelike movement, and a dyed elk hair wing. The orange hotspot indicator makes tracking easy while the orange and brown color scheme perfectly matches golden stoneflies and October caddis.
Summer
Intermediate
Trout
Dec 2025
Overview
This Charlie Craven pattern from Charlie's Fly Box showcases Anthony Grillo's innovative approach to stonefly imitations. The Low Rider is designed to ride with its abdomen hanging through the surface film, perfectly imitating how natural stoneflies sit on the water. The foam shell back and head provide excellent floatation while allowing the body to break through the meniscus. The barred Tarantula legs add the realistic movement that triggers strikes, while the Ice Dub body creates attractive sparkle underwater.
Materials
Hook: Tiemco 200R, #8
Thread: UNI 6/0, black
Butt: Ice Dub (or Prism SLF), rusty brown
Legs/Tail: Tarantula Legs, barred orange/brown
Back: Thin Fly Foam, cinnamon (or rootbeer)
Body: Ice Dub (or Prism SLF), rusty brown
Flash: Krystal Flash, pearl
Wing: Cow Elk, dyed orange
Head: Thin Fly Foam, cinnamon (or rootbeer)
Hotspot: Razor Foam, orange
Behavior & Presentation
Natural Behavior: Hoppers crash-land on the surface with heavy thuds, their legs churning as they struggle to regain footing. Wind-driven falls during hot afternoons concentrate these terrestrials near banks where vegetation overhangs.
Where Trout Eat It: Trout cruise bank edges and mid-stream lanes (2-4 feet) during golden stonefly hatches. The low-riding foam design sits in the film like natural stoneflies creating realistic profile.
How to Fish It: Dead drift with subtle twitches suggesting stonefly leg kicks. The foam shell floats while body hangs through film—try subtle skating during oviposition.
Best Water: Focus on Gunnison and Taylor River seams during stonefly emergences and banks where adults oviposit.
Strike Type: Explosive takes with audible slurps signal trout attacking the high-protein hopper profile aggressively.
Fishing Strategy
Rigging Suggestions: Fish on a 9-foot leader tapering to 3X-4X tippet for good turnover of the larger fly. The foam construction provides excellent buoyancy for dry-dropper fishing with weighted nymphs.
Seasonal Timing: stonefly hatches, particularly golden stonefly and salmonfly emergences from June through August. Also effective during October caddis season due to the color scheme.
Pro Tips: The orange hotspot and foam indicator make the fly easy to track in choppy water. The foam back and head keep the fly floating indefinitely while allowing the body to ride in the film for a realistic profile.
Entomology
Golden stonefly adults crawl along streambanks during mating aggregations, with clumsy females occasionally tumbling into the water during egg-laying flights over fast current. These large plecopterans flounder on the surface with stiff wings held flat while powerful legs kick ineffectively, creating substantial disturbance. Their appearance coincides with early summer warming periods, and their outsized caloric value makes them focal prey items that prompt aggressive topwater strikes.
- Order
- Plecoptera
- Family
- Perlidae
- Common Name
- Golden Stonefly
- Organism Type
- insect
- Life Stage
- adult