Dragonfly Nymphs and Bass

[bcarson4374]

Working on the latest Water Dragon... Finished tying it up thinking the elusive bluegills would slay it, turns out the bass liked it just as much, shocked the hell out of me, I have never caught bass on dragonfly nymphs but damn they tore this bad boy up...

Anyway off to the Church pond with my boys... Photos tell the rest of the story.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/Clear%20Cure%20Goo%20Bass%20Flies/photo.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/Clear%20Cure%20Goo%20Bass%20Flies/photo-27.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/Clear%20Cure%20Goo%20Bass%20Flies/photo-26.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/Clear%20Cure%20Goo%20Bass%20Flies/photo-25.jpg

Here is the fly that did the deed.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/Clear%20Cure%20Goo%20Bass%20Flies/IMG_1027.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/Clear%20Cure%20Goo%20Bass%20Flies/IMG_1026.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/Clear%20Cure%20Goo%20Bass%20Flies/IMG_1023.jpg

Water Dragon
Gami size 6 Stinger Hook
Clear Cure Goo Mono Eyes
Some Dubbing
Crosscut Rabbit
Rubber Legs
A couple strokes of CCG Brushable down the back and a coating of the Thick around the eyes and you are set.

[jbird]

A floating dragonfly nymph has far and away been my best bass producer for quite some time! Tie them with foam so they sit right in the film and wake when you twitch em. WHAMO!!!

[Fats]

Dragon Fly Nymphs are one of my passions. I think it is more important for the fly to act correctly in the water than anything. I've spent lots of time looking at dragon fly nymphs in the water and the last thing they do is "rocket to the bottom." Going for the plastic eyes and a more "neutral" buoyancy is key.

Nobody can argue with your success!

[bcarson4374]

Fats.. If you would be kind enough to talk a bit about your thoughts on these things, typical retrieves, behaviors of the dragon fly nymph, that would be awesome. I had NO IDEA that bass would slam these things, I think of bass typically going for the large meal of a bluegill, shiners, frogs, worms, just not aquatic insects-

I appreciate anything you might have to offer.

[Scott V]

I have been catching alot of bass lately up to about 5 pounds on a size 8 black wiggle tail type fly. Bass will eat small stuff as well, plus I beleive you get mre bass on smaller flies than larger ones.

Love the look of your dragonfly nymph!

[leemar]

Fats.. If you would be kind enough to talk a bit about your thoughts on these things, typical retrieves, behaviors of the dragon fly nymph, that would be awesome. I had NO IDEA that bass would slam these things, I think of bass typically going for the large meal of a bluegill, shiners, frogs, worms, just not aquatic insects-

I appreciate anything you might have to offer.

I was using a fly called the Skip Morris predator on a sinking line this weekend when they stopped whacking my topwater frog and they couldnt get enough of it. You can google it as it is easy to tie.
good luck...Lee

[Fats]

Fats.. If you would be kind enough to talk a bit about your thoughts on these things, typical retrieves, behaviors of the dragon fly nymph, that would be awesome. I had NO IDEA that bass would slam these things, I think of bass typically going for the large meal of a bluegill, shiners, frogs, worms, just not aquatic insects-

I appreciate anything you might have to offer.

Ok, let me dust off some stuff... (it's been a while) Dragon fly nymphs are predatory insects that can get to be rather large, #6 or even larger (although the really large specimens tend to be found in lakes and ponds without fish... go figure!) They are cryptic in coloration (they try to blend in) and are ambush predators. They do have their gills tucked into the last few segments of their abdomen and they can pull water into it an expel it with some force and jet through the water for a short spurt (about an inch or two is the longest I've ever seen)

Whenever I've kicked up dragon fly nymph in a pond and watched it return to the bottom, it drifts down like a bit of leaf or some other non-descript chunk of pond goo... They never rocketed to the bottom. I think it is a defense mechanism... things that move are alive and equate to bass chow. Things that are not alive just settle... and don't get eaten.

It's a big wad of bug protein so bass and blue gills will seek them out. When I try to fish them, I tend to put as little movement on the fly as possible until it settles to the bottom. I try to visualize a nymph that is moving toward the bottom that is trying to not be seen but has screwed up and brought attention to itself. Once the fly is down... I just creep it along the bottom, although most of my strikes come on the fall. I only really cast them into area where I'm confident there is a fish. It is a lousy searching pattern.

My best pattern was one that I worked up for sight fishing to fish on the spawning beds... (at least that was the idea... I don't use it for that much because I quickly got over the impulse to fish for spawning bass.) The idea was to drop it into the bed and have the bass come over and smash the egg stealing predator (Dragon fly nymphs are nasty enough that they will take eggs and small fish fry if they can, they've got these really cool extending jaws that shoot out with a set of pincers that put the "Alien" to shame!)

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e44/Californiafats/Picture1-1.png

I tied up some variations of in size and color... The green was the most successful seller, but I liked the brown version better, as it was a prettier fly. I don't have a picture of the brown. The nymphs are tend to have a flattened abdomen so you have to contend with that if you want a "non-fuzzy" nymph. Your attempt is another way to solve the problem. They and sedentary enough that the nymphs get coated with algae and pond goo so the rabbit hair isn't a bad choice although it isn't entirely accurate from an entomological stand point. In my pattern I was really concerned on making sure that the bug settled slowly which is why I'm a fan of the plastic eyes. I was always struck with the segmentation on the abdomen which is why I went with the overhand weave of the larva lace. I used a hare antron blend under the lace to get some of the "spikey" look to the fly as well. It's accurate, but I think you fly will move better. I'd need to fish them side by side to find my preference.

I hope that helps you out... those are my thoughts on the subject...

[bcarson4374]

Thanks brother, very informative. Ill give the ole fly a tweak and see what I can come up with.

[k.hanley]

Excellent thread going here. Bass and dragon nymphs are a great game! Here's a link to one of my favorite patterns. Very effective used with a sink tip or full sinking line. Enjoy.

http://www.danica.com/flytier/khanley/bunny_dragon_nymph.htm
Cheers, Ken

[Fats]

I like the idea of the foam used for the eyes... The fly should be nice and light. I'm not sure about the "swimming" nymph behavior but if it works, who am I to argue with success! That looks like a very cool pattern.

[k.hanley]

Say hey Fats,
The foam eyes work pretty cool. The idea for the fly presentation is to wait until your sink tip (or full line) is sunk first. In otherwords let the line get down and establish what level the pattern will be worked.

Once the line is down (often on/near the bottom), make a long pull to drive the fly towards the cover and another series of strips through the jungle. If you pause a bit between strips the fly will make a subtle movement upward. Up, down, through, up, down, through - you get the idea I'm sure. Fun stuff.

Certainly plenty of patterns to catch fish on. I love the creativity out there. I use a variety of dragon nymphs during the season. I enjoy them all.
Cheers, K

[bcarson4374]

OK whats the story with the whole floating, and surface fishing of these flies? I assume it is the same principle of an emerging nymph?

All I know is I went out today and slayed them again, Im hood on these flies now!

[jbird]

Bass are opportunistic. They are not selective like trout. You do not need to immitate actual insect behavior with bass. A dragonfly nymph will never be alive and floating as the way I present mine for bass. They are striking it on instinct. They will even inspect it VERY carefully and still eat it. I have seen bass hover motionless under my topwater nymph. Then it becomes a game of tickling their instincts. Sometimes you give it a twitch and that triggers the strike. Sometimes the twitch will cause the refusal. And then Ill not move it at all when the bass apears under it. He will slowly get close and then quietly inhale it.

Natural dragonfly nymphs do swim and they are predators but most of this behavior happens at night. They mostly crawl along the bottom and along foliage like spiders. If you are lucky and can witness a mass hatch, they can be seen in giant armies, marching out of the lake in the evening and climbing up anything to hatch. They actually look like little crabs invading the shoreline.

This natural migration can be very hard to imitate with a fly for obvious reasons.

so anytime you are stipping a dragon nymph pattern in the daytime, you are not immitating natural behaviour. But it will catch fish as fish can be opportunistic and may throw caution to the wind for a meal. Bass are notorious for such brazen behavior.

The floating dragon nymph with a sinking line is a very old method discovered in Europe called "booby" fishing. It is extremely popular in BC as well (specifically Kamloops.) Any fly can be tied "booby" style. It is esentially an ungodly huge set of foam eyes that makes the fly boyant. This type of fishing is frowned upon by many purists do to it being downright deadly and it being near impossible to feel the bite. Resulting in very deeply hooked fish.

Bass respond VERY well to any buggy profile, floating offering. Try a foam hopper for instance. Cast it deep into cover and twitch it.

[Fats]

When I use the sinking line floating fly technique I tend to stick with flies with a diving collar. The Dahlberg Diver is the grandfather of this style of fly but when you strip in the fly, it really moves toward the bottom. A foam bodied diving fly will actually work for more than 20 minutes which is about as long as a deer hair bug will last fishing this way. A floating nymph would be a more subtle approach but I'm sure it would work as well. The dragon nymph is big enough to get the bass's attention when suspended in all the "goo" found in a typical warm water lake. ( I like getting back in the thick stuff!)