damsels

[macanudo]

Any advice on fishing damsels. I have found them to be frustrating at times. Last week I was tubing and found myself surrounded by big fish taking damsel nymphs. I tried every size and style of damsel nymph I had using every presentation I could come up with. Then I tried scratching the hatch, nothing. Serious frustration to have that many nice fish violently feeding all around me and no hits. I had to go out to deeper water to catch an occasional fish. It was still a lot of fun, and that type of thing keeps me coming back. But if anyone cares to share a tip it would be appreciated.

mac
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[Paulpro]

catch them with cast net,or use fine hooks to catch them and use them for live bait,we have damsels down here I have caught them with fine hooks,I use 4lb fire line,anyother line wont even fit through the eye of the hook,I could get back to you on hook size.anyway I've caought them for auquariums but never tried them for bait,I feel bad using a tropical fish as bait.I hope I'm a kinda close to what you are talking about..
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[riverdog]

I think he was referring to damselflies ( similar to dragonflies) not damselfish like you have in Florida.
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[Paulpro]

I had that feeling,thanks,I still enjoyed writing that post anyway....I'm still learning.[frown][frown][frown]
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[flygoddess]

I have a killer Damsel pattern that we used at Strawberry recently. We used a Type II and a Type III line, 7' leader and this silly little bug and nailed fish on almost every cast. We did cast and count to ten then steady strip back.

I think most Damsel fly patterns are to rigid and don't flop around line the real thing, and that is the problem.
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[macanudo]

Care to share your pattern? I'm more of a blue collar fly tyer, I don't tye anything overly fancy, but I'm not sure the really effective patterns are all that technical. I love the way those nymphs move in the water, but dang that is not an easy presentation to imitate.
Thanks,
mac
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[OldTroller]

I second that "share the pattern" request.

I'll even throw in a pretty, pretty please.
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[catfish77]

I third the request lol!
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[flygoddess]

I am so sorry, and I am sure this sounds like a story, but I was just asked to send my fly pattern in to possibly be published in a new Yellowstone fly patterns book, this weekend.
So, I need to hold off on sharing this pattern till published.
Doesn't mean if I run into you fishing I won't share though...LOL
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[cpierce]

That is really cool! I understand about the not putting it on the Internet until after publication. Let us know when it comes out. It sounds like it would be a great book.
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[monsterbrowns]

Here is one of my favorites... I had no idea what a damsel nymph looked like before a trip to a local lake a couple years ago. Those things were crawling all over me and I was frustrated as the fish were aggressively feeding and I had nothing that looked like that. I came home that day and tied a few of these and I have looked forward to the hatch ever since. The fish love em! They are simple to tie. I did end up using the 1" of the thick end of an old leader to melt into eyes. I agree with FG, they need to wiggle as the naturals are almost constantly moving. The tail on this one gives it movement. I hope that helps.
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[cpierce]

I really like your blue wire on that.

Yours is pretty close to what I tie. Mine I started out with it being a dragon fly nymph imitation, but I think the fish take it for either, or as a small leech. I don't have any left after my last trip to Lamont last week, but basically it is on a size 10 or 12 hook with peacock chenille body, olive marabou tail, and overwrapped with olive fluff. (I don't know what to call the fluffy fibers on the bottom of hen hackle feathers --- hence "olive fluff"!) If I get one tied up soon I will post it, but I am an absolutely awful tier so don't laugh too hard when you see it. I called it the "Ratty Dragon" for a reason!
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[catfish77]

very nice!
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[jonesnforfish]

Don't be too hard on yourself as a tier, I was fishing with catfish 77 one day on the middle provo and he had a pattern that looked like a drunk tied it. Long story short I watch him pull in countless fish while I threw everything in my box with one fish. I am sure he would have shared if he had tied two of them.
DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A DRUNK FLY.
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[Lobina_Mosca]

In the grand scheme of things, there's nothing mystic about a specific damsel fly pattern. Fished properly, the pattern is less of a concern, IMO. I fished a pretty "picky" bunch of damsel-eating fish last week and did fine with a variety of patterns. I'm not a huge believer in the "hinged" style fly to imitate the action of the bug because they don't all move like that all of the time. In fact, I often get more hits when the fly is at rest. The best option (again just IMO) is to weight the head with a bead or lead to give it a bobbing motion as you strip. And I often fish them on an indicator as opposed to a heavy sinking line. That can help you adjust the depth at which you fish them instead of having to change your whole line out. I usually just watch the fish to see where they're taking the naturals and how they're taking them. Like a few weeks ago, I found some fish rocketing out of the water, so I adjusted the fly depth to 6 inches and then stripped faster. Way outfished sinking and intermediate lines. This made all the difference because the fish were targeting the escaping naturals. Anyway, just my two cents and maybe a different way to approach it than the standard "kick and strip" with sinking lines advice you'll get from a lot of stillwater folks.

Also, don't overlook the adults. The fish will key on those as well:



Anyway, here's a couple patterns I like. Just change up the colors to match what you're fishing:



And video tutorial...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7pxHdBgLEk



And video toot...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXogTkfUujU
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[flygoddess]

That last pattern looks a lot like the GUN SLINGER. Great pattern. I am not into the hinged too much either. A lot of work to make, and I haven't noticed them making that big of difference.
It is possible to get movement with just material.
I happened upon my pattern from trial and error.

I love that green thing..that is one great looking fly L_M, thanks for sharing.
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[catfish77]

You Arse! lol Fly tying is much better after a few beers!
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[kglissmeyer]

Here are a couple of patterns I've come up with, they seem to work well and are pretty easy to tie.







Kelly.
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[cpierce]

I really like those. About what size of hook are you using?

Thanks for sharing those.
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[tkidder]

Any chance of a recipe? and or video?

Great looking flies!
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