Jump to content
Fly Tying
Guest

Thunder Hawks of the stream

Recommended Posts

Guest

Whether your stream is North, South , East or West, you will have some sort of damsel or dragonfly hatch in the summer. These "Thunder Hawks" are found all over North America and provide a food staple for all species of fish in both nymph and adult stages.

 

Dragon flies can be typically broken down into two catergories: the darners and the skimmers. Darners have slender bodies extending from thier thorax that tapers near the end, whereas skimmers have robust bodies and are much more blunted. Darners are the among the largest and fastest flying of the dragonflies, They typically have clear wings and bright body colors ranging from blue to green to reds and browns. Their spherical eyes meet on top of thier heads. They prey on midges, caddisflies, other dragon flies, and other flying insects. The nymphs will feed on other larvae, small crustaceans, small fish, nad each other! Common Darners include the Green Darner or Snake Doctor, the Brown Darner, and the Scarlet Darner or Red Poker.

 

The Skimmers also have birghtly colored bodies. The wings are spotted or barred, which is one of the defining differences that separates it from the Darners. In some species , the male and female are different colors and the male may not achieve full color or brillance until days after emergence. AS nymphs, the skikmmers prefer warmer, shallower waters than naiads of other species and are more active than the naiads tend to be more nocturnal than thier cousins. Thier diet is svery similar to that of the Darners.

 

Common Skimers include the Twelve Spotted Skimmer, the White Tail Skimmer, and the Red or Scarlet Skimmer.

 

Dragonfly species are easliy distinguishable from damsels in the fact that Dragonflies have four wings and when at rest, extend thier wings to the sides of their bodies, resembling small aircraft. Damsels have only two wings, or a fixed pair of wings that are held closed and parrell to its body, down its back, in an upright postion. However, there is a family of damsels that are refered to as Spread Wing Damsels. This family of Damsels gets its name for the way their wings will diverge and serparate when at rest. Members of this family include the Dark Lestes and the Stocky Lestes. for the most part, we will be concerning ourselves with the Narrow Winged Damsels which are more typical to most of our favorite waters.

 

Damsel adults feed on other flying insects. They tend to flutter and flitter when in flight and appear much more clumsy than do Dragonflies. The nymphs or naiads, prey on aquatic insects, worms, small fish, etc. They are much smaller than the dragon nymphs, but occupy the same rivers and streams. Damsel nymphs will reach a length of 1" and have leaf like gills at the tip of their abdomen...they are typically found in calmer, quieter waters.

 

 

Dragon flies females will hover above the water and deposit her eggs one at a time through the surface film. But damsels lack the ability to hover and the technique is a bit different. Both the male and female will become embraced and mate on top of the water. The female will dip her abdomen into the water to deposit her eggs.

 

Both dragons and damsels are not only intriguing little buggers to watch, but they should not be overlooked by any fly angler. Trout, steelhead, bass, and panfish can be taken on nymph imitations and are a spring staple in most trout streams they inhabit. In the summer, adult patterns take big smallmouth and trout easily. Patterns need not be too complex, as the silohuette of a damsel or a dragon is enough to provoke violent smashes by fish! Most Darners and Dragons will start to hatch in the late spring and continue to hatch throughout the sumer months. A favorite stream of mine always seems to have a much more abundant hatch than other streams and a foam adult pattern has taken 50 or more fish in a day.....bluegill and suckers to bass and trout....all fish seem to love a dragonfly!!

 

 

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?act...w&s=&showid=131

 

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?act...w&s=&showid=333

 

http://www.dragonhunter.net/anax_junius_new.html

 

http://www.dragonhunter.net/twelvespottedskimmer_m.html

 

http://www.onlineflytyer.com/article_n2locodamsel.asp

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest

I know I have seen a million of these things on the water and I never knew the difference between a damsel and a dragon. I have never even hear of a Darner or a Skimmer. When I see them around this summer I'm gonna see if I can tell them apart and I might even give my SFUDF a try biggrin.gif

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A couple years ago, i was floating around a small pond in my bellyboat when the water started erupting with bass launching themselves at the damsels fluttering above the water........the closest thing i had were some small black poppers, but they worked........it was a very enjoyable hour and a half. One bass even went after my popper in mid air (about a foot above the surface)!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest

Nope, Mark...don't mind at all!! biggrin.gif

 

 

Mike...I was just telling Will the other day about smallies that would launch and take a nice big adult pattern three feet above the water....great action with these patterns!!! Love to hit the streams with them....I never leave the house without a few adults in the ol box...especially after Mid April wehn the Violet Lestes start to hatch on paint Creek....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Adult dragonfly patterns are my #1 hands-down fish catcher for smallies (and bucket mouths) in the shallows. I discovered them a few years ago fishing my grandfathers lake when I tied on a silly looking experiment of a pattern and on my first cast into the pads, the second it hit the water I saw the wake of a nice fish making a b-line for my fly from 10'-15' away and then crushing it. I remember seeing several smaller fish trying to mug him durring the fight. There must have been 8 or 10 of them on his ass the whole way to the boat. I've cought more bass since then on draggons than all the years prior to that discovery on any fly I've ever tried. Bass magnets. Great thread BDH. smile.gif

 

Al

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest

I have always thought of the adult dragon fly patterns as a gimmick- fisherman catching fly. I guess I will have to try some out myself now!

 

 

I fish a lot of damsel nymphs, and I have some damsel adults, but never really fished them.

 

Thanks BDH

 

john headbang.gif

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good writeup Chris. And to anyone who doubts yes fish do take the adult flys out of the air. biggrin.gif Heck of a site even if I did get a looked at like I was on crack when I described it at a local fly shop.

 

Gurglers tied with an oversized hackle & trimmed flat on the bottom also work for the adults.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest

John R....can't believe you have never tried an adult pattern??? You really need to come South and let me take you out during the big skimmer hatches!! You'd love it!! Expand your horizons a bit and give an adult pattern an honest try....often fish, trout and bass alike, will hit an adult dragon or damsel pattern when they won't take any other offering...particularily on hot summer days...

 

 

John D...Gurglers are GREAT patterns....have taken many fish on them during the summer, especially when the big Green Darners are abundant...

 

 

I tired an experiment last summer....I hit one of my favorite Jessamine County flows with nothing but one solitary fly...just to see how many fish I could catch....it was a very simple Dragon pattern...a two inch round foam tail (yellow)...hackled at the head with two black rooster saddle feathers...very simple, and VERY ugly....had one of the best days on the creek, including a 4lb + smallie that tore one of the hackles completely lose!! I quit counting fish after 20 or so and caught several of every species in the creek...One guy who had been watching me from the tree line came to ask how I was catching so many fish..I just smiled and said, "Luck"....no luck, just a great pattern that spinning guys don't use!!! biggrin.gif

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest

Add me to the list of fishers who hasn't used an adult D-fly! I think after reading here I'll have to adjust that this coming season. After doing all that homework on the nymphs, I watched the video on Troutnut.com and I'd have to think that the Assom Dragon is probably the most realistic nymph going. I would just add eyes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest

Can't imagine you fellas not trying adult patterns....we have so much to cover this summer!!! cool.gif wink.gif

 

Serouisll, I encourage eanyone who hasn't tried them to give them an honest try. Big patterns are fabulous bass getters....especially in the mornings and the evenings when the big fish are more active....I love to just chuck the fly upstream and let it deaddrift...it has proven to be my most productive method for fishing the big patterns...the fish just slam 'em!!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest

Allright big daddy, I gave the adult dragons a go this morning. Trying to come up with a fly pattern. I did not find many of them on the internet when i searched. I need to find out a rough size I should make these things? What do you prefer for wings? Length of wings? Any pictures of you dragon fly ? I made the extended body tail out of dragon fly blue locofoam, built it on a needle, similar to pujics damsel. Then Itied in a foam strip facing forward. Tied in eyes immediately after the eye of the hook, in back of the foam strip. USed lite brite dubbing for the thorax (minnow blue), and I tried both krystal flash, and hackle tips for wings. Not real impressed with the look of either. Someone suggested using smoke colored super hair. Do you make 2 wings or seperated 4 wings?

 

John

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...