Damsel Fly Nymph

[gene goss]

What is your favorite Damsel Fly Nymph that you use.

This is my simple but very effective damsel fly nymph.

Hook: TMC 2499 SP-BL Size 12.....this is a very strong hook for its size, you can put a lot of pressure on that toad of a rainbow in the weed beds with out spring it.

Tail: Ultra Chenille Micro, color Olive......I like to keep my flies simple, and this tail has a lot of wiggle when it gets wet....also you could add gills to the end of the tail with some marabou, but like i said i like to keep it simple.

Thorax + Legs: Olive CDC Dubbing.....The CDC dubbing will make the fly suspended or sink very very slowly.....the slow sinking is what makes this fly work's so well.

Wing Case: Medallion Sheeting color Olive

Eyes : Vinyl Rib, size Med, color green .....The vinyl eyes on this fly has a green glow, which would help the trout to find it in the weed beds.

Thread: 8/0 olive

[mike borba]

Great looking fly!

[John Reese]

Pretty big ears on that thing

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Good looking fly and excellent photography Gene.


Fishing a really big damsel fly emergence on Crane Prairie Reservoir in Oregon or Davis Lake in California can be very frustrating.

I would recommend that most that have not done it a lot should go with a highly recommended guide for that lake.

Some of the variables are the time of year, time of day, location on lake, size, color and buoyancy of the fly, action of the fly, tippet diameter, etc.

This is usually May/June on Davis Lake in California.

If you go to Davis Lake in October it can be very easy.

.

[James W]

Very very effective this spring, tied with Jay Fair's brown olive marabou and a small short shuck collar.
Umpqua C550BL #14, tie in a tail of marabou, wrap the fat part forward, top off with just a couple wraps of short shuck.
Unweighted, very lifelike movement, and Jay really hit the color right for NorCal damsels in spring.

[gene goss]

Very very effective this spring, tied with Jay Fair's brown olive marabou and a small short shuck collar.
Umpqua C550BL #14, tie in a tail of marabou, wrap the fat part forward, top off with just a couple wraps of short shuck.
Unweighted, very lifelike movement, and Jay really hit the color right for NorCal damsels in spring.

James.......Jay Fair is the master of dying marabou feathers, and his engineering of the wiggle tail for his style of fishing was right on.

My wiggle tail fly is tied without any weight add, and it has a shorter thinner tail with a thinner body. I showed this fly to Jay Fair one time and ask him what he thought about it....... he said it was to small. lol

[James W]

James.......Jay Fair is the master of dying marabou feathers, and his engineering of the wiggle tail for his style of fishing was right on.

My wiggle tail fly is tied without any weight add, and it has a shorter thinner tail with a thinner body. I showed this fly to Jay Fair one time and ask him what he thought about it....... he said it was to small. lol

That's funny! The first thing anyone says about my damsel is "its so small".

[mike N]

Sorry for reviving an old post, but I can resist when it comes to damsel patterns. Here is my favorite damsel nymph. it used to do pretty well on Davis fished still under a small indicator.

MN