Damselfly Nymph      

Hook: Tiemco TMC 100 # 14 - 16 

Thread: Olive 8/0  

Tail: Grizzly Marabou

Rib: Copper Wire

Body: Olive Dubbing

Wingcase: Scud Back

Eyes: Burnt Mono or from Flyshop

Legs: Olive or Dyed Olive Hackle Fibres

1/ Start by wrapping a base of thread on which we will tie the fly. When you get to the rear of the hook select a bunch of Marabou for the tail. Tie in a section approximately twice the length of the hook shank. When you have done this trim off the excess and a couple of tight wraps for strength. Don't worry about the tail being so long as it is exactly what we are after with this pattern.
2/ Run the thread back to the front of the hook. While we could and probably should have tied in the eyes first this is the way I photographed this morning so it is the way I will describe it! Take your mono eyes and tie them in just behind the hook eye. Leave enough room to finish off later and tie in a wingcase. Using a figure of eight technique fasten the eyes to the hook. Once complete wind the thread back to the rear of the fly.
3/ Next up we tin in the rib. While this fly doesn't really need this I like to include it. Take a piece of copper wire and tie it in as shown. Once again tie in all materials so that they are out of the way of the steps to come in this case pointing upwards and to the rear of the fly. Remove any excess wire with a quick clip of the scissors and add a wrap of thread for security. Now move onto Step 4.
4/ Pinch some dubbing from your dispenser or packet. A mixture of dyed olive fur and a bright synthetic olive often work well but use any combination you wish. Apply a small amount of dubbing to form a very thin rope as shown. Damselflies have a very thin profile and we must try to represent this in the artificial. In other words don't use too much dubbing.
5/ Wind the dubbed thread forward to form the body of the fly (abdomen). This should be narrow and end at the rear of the eyes tied in earlier. Feel free to tease out some of the fibres near to the front of the hook for some added movement. When you have the body completed as shown remove any excess dubbing from the thread before moving onto Step 6 of the tying process.
6/ Wind the thread back about a third of the body towards the hook rear. The is where the ribbing will be wound up to and also where the wingcase will be first tied in. Take the copper wire and using two to three turns wind it forward until you reach the thread. Once you get there use two turns of thread to secure it and then trim the excess wire.
7/ Take a piece of scud back and trim it to shape. We need a section about 6-7mm long, 3mm wide. Click on photo 13 to get a large version of the completed wingcase for an idea of how to trim this material. Once you have done this tie it in the same place where you just tied off the copper wire. The scud back should reach a point level with the hook bend and hook eye as in the photo.
8/ Once again take a small pinch of dubbing material and apply it to the thread. This will be used to make a small thorax and to wrap around the eyes and complete the fly. Again try to not use too much as these are very delicate insects and the fact that we have a wingcase and eyes tied in will mean that only a small amount of dubbing is allowed if we are to accurately imitate them.
9/ Wind the dubbed thread forward creating a thorax between the wingcase tie in point and the eyes. Then wrap figure of eight style until we have hidden the eyes. There is no difference in doing this than to stage two when we originally tied the eyes in. Once completed find your leg materials and move on to the next step.
10/ Move the thread to the rear of the flies. Find your leg material and measure them off again the hook shank for length. Using two to three wraps secure the legs to the underside of the fly angled back and down at roughly a 45 Degree angle. This gives the fly more accuracy in that damselflies have very prominent legs and also the type of material used for them allows independent movement when retrieved.
11/ Now simply move the thread forward to just behind the hook eye where the fly will be completed and tied off. I like to add half hitch for strength and piece of mind at this point and this is a good habit to develop. There is nothing worse than making a mistake late in the tying process and having the thing come apart on you.
12/ To finish grasp the wingcase with your finger tips or hackle pliers and pull it tight over and between the eyes to the thread. Then hold it off and take a few wraps of thread to hold the wingcase down and in place. Add a half hitch or two and then trim the excess scud back material. Whip finish or add another half hitch and thrown at a fish working the edge of a weedbed.
13/ This is the same step as before only viewed from above which shows the thin profile of the fly. As you would imagine the tail slims right down when wet and really gives a great representation of the natural. Note the wingcase shape and the slit up the back at the rear. Click on the photo for a full size view of it.

The Pattern

It is almost Springtime and many of us will fish the many quality stillwaters located around the state over the next 3 months. This pattern is a must have! I'll just repeat that, this pattern is a must have! Out of all the flies I carry for fishing in stillwater environments this would have to be in the top three. It will take fish year round and regardless of the location. While the colour may vary slightly from place to place an olive version is by far the most popular.

Damselflies are one of the prettiest insects around. Elegant in name and by nature they are a major part of the trouts diet the world over at certain times of the season. As discussed in the tying instructions they are very delicate with a very thin, narrow body profile. They are accomplished swimmers moving through the water with a distinct wiggle from side to side when viewed from above. They have pronounced eyes and legs something we try to imitate when tying them. Damselflies live in weedbeds and on logs and other structure items in the water and must swim to the waters edge and climb out onto the bank/grass to emerge into a winged adult.

So how do we imitate them accurately? For starters we try and get the correct size. About a #14 - 16 hook depending on the size of the natural but generally speaking these hook sizes will cover most specimens found in Victoria. Next the shape of the insect. A thin profile is most important. Using a long marabou tail that slims down when wet and a thin dubbed body we can imitate the insect well. Also add the mono eyes and the legs/wingcase we have a very accurate representation of the shape or profile of the insect. Next up is colour and olive is the first choice. While they can vary in colour depending on their environment from plae straw coloured to lime green the olive is generally the best to use.

The seductive wiggle of the damselfly is imitated well by the overly long marabou tail. Using a slow figure of eight retrieve or a strip (4 inches), pause, strip (4 inches) style retireve works best. Try to keep the fly in the water all the way back to the rod tip and try and fish near structure especially along the edge of weedbeds where trout often actively hunt these bugs. A damselfly migration is truly a wonderful event with many fish actively hunting the shallows eating each one to show. Sometimes the fishing can be almost too good with stillwaters like Hepburn Lagoon just dynamite.

So tie some up before you next head out lake fishing. Just in the one colour and size for starters and fish them with plenty of confidence knowing that they work well for many thousands of fly anglers the world over.