Yellow Sally
Also called Little Yellow Stonefly, Yellow Stonefly, Yellow Sally hatch
A “Yellow Sally” is a small yellow stonefly, and the name anglers use for the hatch and the flies that imitate it.
- Group
- Stonefly & caddis hatches
- Category
- Entomology & forage
- Level
- Intermediate
- Water
- Freshwater
Last updated
What Yellow Sally means
On many trout streams, “Yellow Sally” refers to a group of small yellow stoneflies that show up in late spring into summer. Adults are pale yellow to sulfur-yellow, and they tend to flutter low over the water or crawl on rocks and banks before and after they hatch.
Anglers match Yellow Sallies with small dry flies, usually in the Stimulator family or simple yellow stonefly dries, and with nymphs that suggest a slim stonefly nymph. Fishing can be best along broken water, banks, and seams where the naturals get knocked down or where adults return to lay eggs.
Why it matters on the water
Yellow Sally activity often looks subtle compared to big stoneflies. If you recognize it, you spend less time waiting for obvious surface feeding and more time covering likely edges with a small dry, or running a stonefly-style nymph as the dropper.
It is also a good clue about what trout are keyed on when they are refusing larger attractor dries. Dropping down in silhouette and color, and keeping the fly riding low, can turn “looks but won’t eat” into consistent takes.
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Read next
- Golden stoneA “golden stone” is a common name for medium-to-large yellow to golden stoneflies, and the hatch anglers watch for when those adults are on the banks and fluttering on the surface.
- NymphA nymph is a subsurface fly meant to imitate an aquatic insect in its immature stage, or a small food item drifting in the current. Nymphs are fished with or without weight, an indicator, or tight-line methods.
- StimulatorA high-floating, bushy dry fly that suggests big stoneflies and large caddis. It’s commonly used as a searching pattern and as a buoyant top fly in a dry-dropper rig.
- StoneflyStoneflies are aquatic insects whose young live mostly in moving water and whose nymphs crawl out to emerge. They are an important trout food, especially where big species like salmonflies and golden stones are present.