Dragonfly Nymphs

[Redwings1 0]

I certainly will! Thanks for the post.

[deeky 0]

I second the pattern McGinty gives. Know it, use it, like it. His link doesn't work, but go to the Flyanglers web site and do a search for damsel nymph. It's about the second one down, where the address ends in 'part 14'.

[whippersnapper 0]

 

Hello All,

 

Redwings has asked a great question here, as dragonflies tend to be one of the more prolific food sources in lakes and yet one of the least understood insects by anglers. By understanding dragonflies' behavior and habitat, one can become a much more successful angler when fishing lakes where dragonflies are plentiful.

Like a lot of things in life, Fly Fishing and Fly Tying included, you can make things as easy or as difficult as you want. I don't know how much time you guys spend tying these days and a lot of the patterns out there can require a lot of time at the vise to fill your fly boxes.

 

I fish dragonfly patterns a lot for both freshwater and coldwater fish and I can tell you that working the proper depth in the water column is much more important than realistic fly design. On some of my favorite high mountain lakes, big trout will take a green woolly worm just as readily as an ultra realistic dragonfly pattern with eyes and legs. Again, it is all about putting your fly in the same water column as the trout are situated in. Early in the year, these trout are going to be in their comfort zone at a much higher depth than later in the summer. Here in the spring and early summer is when I'll fish a sinking fly on an intermediate sinking line and 'countdown' my fly until I start getting strikes. As the water warms up and begins to stratify, trout will be forced deeper to find their comfort zone. In later summer months, combining a floating fly with a sinking line is my ultimate tool for success. The sinking line lays on the bottom with the floating fly suspended above the bottom. The length of the leader and the speed of the retrieve can be adjusted so that you are not snagging on weeds or the bottom. The shorter the leader and/or the faster the retrieve, the deeper the floating fly will swim. Vice versa, lengthening the leader and slowing your retrieve will allow the fly to swim higher in the water column. Ideally, you want your fly just above the bottom where the trout are holding.

 

Dragonfly nymphs do not swim like damselfly nymphs. They are two completely different actions. Dragonfly nymphs propel themselves through the water by drawing water inside thier bodies through vents in their sides and then squirting the water out their posteriors like a jet. This action can be imitated by stripping the line 1-2" at a time followed by a deliberate pause. I used to tell my clients to say to themselves, "Strip, pause, Strip, pause" to get the timing down because most people tend to fish these flies too fast- much faster than a dragonfly nymph is capable of swimming.

 

Dragonflies spend most of their lives crawling around on lake bottoms eating other insects. They are big, ugly, and voracious. The only time the dragonfly nymphs emerge from the bottom is when they are mature and swim up to the surface to hatch into dragonflies. When feeding on emerging dragonfly nymphs, trout will stack up in their comfort zone alongside drop-offs and ambush the dragonfly nymphs as they swim for the surface. The important thing to realize here is that most dragonflies swim towards the shore- not away from it. So, you can better imitate an emerging dragonfly nymph by working your flies towards shore (and sometimes parallel to shore) rather than casting towards the shoreline and working your dragonflies away from shore.

An unmatched advantage of the aforementinoed sinking line/ floating fly setup is that the fly remains positioned consistently above the bottom regardless of the changing depth when swimming towards shore, whereas the sinking line/ sinking fly will snag on the bottom at some point as the water column becomes shallower when swimming towards shore.

 

Whichever dragonfly pattern you decide to tie at the vise and later on the end of your line is up to you, and that is what fly tying and fly fishing is all about. But, if you remember what I've mentioned about dragonfly behavior and habitat, then I am sure that you will become a more productive angler when fly fishing lakes.

 

I hope this post has been helpful to you, and remember to

 

keep it deep,

whippersnapper

[madkasel 0]

Wow!

 

Great post, whippersnapper. I just learned a TON, and am very interested in trying to fish these. Are dragonfly nymphs something you can fish spring through summer or do they have a more specific season?

 

Given what you said about the sink line with floating nymph, I'm going to try tying the flyanglers.com pattern mentioned already (looks easy and uses common materials), but instead of bulking the body up with yarn, I'll use foam. Should be great for all the lake fishing I'd like to do.

 

So much to tie... so little time... I'm really getting the feeling that I'm going to be really far behind the ball this whole year when it comes to fishing. Just no time to get up to speed on things or have a properly stocked flybox.

[Guest]

I second that compliment whippersnapper!

 

I haven't tried dragonflies on trout yet, but in lakes and ponds I have the most success by letting the dragon nymph settle for for as long as 30 seconds before doing anything at all. Then the short strip, long pause, and I wait for another incredibly tough length of time. (Probably 20 seconds in real life. Ha!)

 

 

The majority of my strikes come on the pause, and many before I've done anything at all. Slow slow slow is the key!

[Redwings1 0]

Alright...combined some pattern ideas and came up with this. I used .035 lead on either side of the hook shank to build the body out to the sides. The tail is looped leech yarn as is the body of the fly. The casing is nymph skin and the legs are soft hackle fibers.

 

What do you guys think?

 

[Philly 0]

Excellent explanation on the dragon flies.

 

Here's the one I was talking about made by tying marabou in by the tip and wrapping. Trim to shape with scissors. A piece of a lead wire is wrapped on the bottom for weight. Still need to work on the head area a bit.

 

 

 

[Joe Hard 0]

MMMM, nice fly Mike. I am an Editor, so I jumped on this post and put it the species index. I am like any other fisher person and want to see all the "big bugs" that I can. Anything bigger than a Dragon Fly, has to be a bird. I think a Dragon Fly and the nymph is one thing a fly tyer can not resist. Nor can fish at the right time, I for one love to see them glistening in the air. I stop they stop. Mhmhmh, they are my friends. Yours too. I can hardly wait till one lands upon me this year. I found a few nymphs, took them home and watched them hatch. I have to tell you it was and is one of the most amazing things I have seen. I am a hard core out to lunch nut. (bad ass). Dragons are something else!!

[RunninDetox 0]

I have a great pattern that I can share with you in about a month after it is published. It is going into a magazine next month and promised not to share it with anyone till then. Once I post it, I encourage everyone to tie atleast 6 up of 3 different sizes. You will be more than happy with with pattern. The only shitty thing is they take about 45 min. a piece to tie, but I will tell you, it is well worth the 45 minutes.

 

Keep an eye out for my post. I'll call it something like "killer dragon pattern"!

[FrenchCreek 0]

Mike - That is a great looking Dragon!

[Joe Hard 0]

Hey guys there is a great fly called the breathing dragon. I have to say it is one of the best flys I have ever seen. It is here on this forum. Can we keep all this going on to adults, for the species index? It all falls under the same category. Dragons. I am sorry to jump on your post Mike, but in the future anyone will be able to look all this info up. I think it is a good one and your idea of asking to see what everyone has got. For this big bug got me on a roll.

[Redwings1 0]

No problem Joe. I plan on tying up some more tonight using the patterns provided.

[chrislorne 0]

simple dragonfly nymphs I've tied work great, and I find bass can't pass them up.

[Guest]

I don't have any personal adult patterns yet, but after a couple of the guys here turned me on to using adults last year I bought (I'm sorry, forgive me!! ) a few at the shop and the fish were ALL OVER THEM. Adults are definitely worth the time to work with.

[Philly 0]

luvinbluegills

I've got an adult dragon fly pattern that takes about 10-15 minutes to tie. I use it for both damsels and dragons. I've got to tie a couple up anyway so when I get them done I'll post pictures and tying instructions.