Dragons for Bass

[idcraft 0]

Evening before last, while fishing for bluegill, I noticed the bass jumping in the weeds along shore. Didn't really understand why until i caught a bss that had 4 ro 5 dragonflys sticking out of it's gullet. So here is my nest weapon to try and exploit their gluttony!

[flyderaght 0]

I garantee if they are feeding on the adults,they will be feeding on the nymphs too. drafons are a major food source for trout and bass. I have seen 4in trout trying to inhale a nymph. very nice looking fly and it shuld get their attention.

marc

[kelkay 0]

Great looking fly. I made a dragonfly or two when I first started tying. It didn't do well for me. Maybe I was using it wrong. Your fly looks great, I really liked it.

[idcraft 0]

Thanks, this is my first atempt at extended bodies. Hope it hold up!

[iFly 0]

thats a great looking pattern. can i ask though, how did you make the extended tail?

 

 

[David Romanillos 0]

Hello, very goog fly

[idcraft 0]

Ifly,

The extended body is reddish brown bucktail that I segmented with black 6/0 thread over a needle, then slid off and tied to hook. Start you thread on the needle wiht a jam knot, then just wrap a few times around the base of the hair, move the thread back a little, and repeat. Work to the rear and then back up, whip finish, and slide body off of needle.

Easier than it sounds, I always thoght it was more difficult.

[hook-line&sinker 0]

Same thing happened to me at a stock tank I fish here in Central Texas. I've made a couple versions of the dragonfly and have them on video.

 

 

 

[CoachBob 0]

After hundreds of experimental dragons, I can say with confidence that the best material to use for wings is monofilament loops. Here's why. Materials like krystal flash tend to drag the fly down into the water. About 90% of wing-ish materials do that. Foam wings just look fake. Zip lock bag wings act like propellers or kites when casting and droop when wet. Hackle wings are never quite long or transparent enough. Bucktail is long enough but kite-ish and not transparent. If you insist on bucktail, use only 3-4 hairs.

 

Mono loop wings are really pretty simple. Make a double loop of mono and tie onto the thorax at the middle of the double mono loop. You now have two wings on each side that will stand out, not absorb water, not be affected by the wind, and will hold their shape after catching a fish. Best of all, you can vary the size of the mono with the size of the fly, hence 2 lb mono (or 6x tippet) will make delicate wings, and 10 lb mono will make more prominent wings. Best of all, the profile on the water looks like wings.

[bowfin47 0]

CoachBob knows of what he speaks! Great advice...

[tidewaterfly 0]

Those extended body flies do look neat! I've tied Dragonfly variations too, but never really cared to use them for all the reasons CoachBob mentioned. Didn't try the mono wings though. CoachBob, how well do they hold up? Seems like after a few fish the mono would get kinked up some, not that it would cause a problem, should just look like a crippled dragon! What's your experience?

[idcraft 0]

I used poly yarn and a little crystal flash for the wings. Seem to hold up well and the fly still floats in the surface film, even after being chewed by a few fish! Seem to work great. I will try the mono wings though, will probably be quicker to tye. Thanks for the info on the wings.

[poksal 0]

Same thing happened to me at a stock tank I fish here in Central Texas. I've made a couple versions of the dragonfly and have them on video.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is my version... they tie fast and you will notice that I SPLASH harder-than-nails color on in a hurry, the fish haven't been to art school. I use paint bristles for feet (those on this one lack a few). The tail is a couple of strands from a braided nylon rope, tied over a needle, and pulled off. The wings are #30 mono, three loops over my four fingers, held in a figure eight with a hackle clamp and bobbin wrapped with some bright color. Then I touch the inside end of each loop quickly with a warm soldering iron to tighten the end radii. Eyes are laid out about the same as yours, painted with #211 Flirt - Harder-Than-Nails, then hit with a black sharpie. DONE, five minutes tops.. and ready to do another...

[perchjerker 0]

This thread reminded me of a material that I have used in the past to make very realistic wings on mayfly spinners---Organza fibers tied in on top in a figure 8. The highly reflective fibers of organza produce a very shiny, realistic wing, and they fibers are small enough that they don't result in the fly sinking. Also, it comes in a multitude of colors, and is found in all fabric shops.

 

To make such a wing, individual threads are pulled from the fabric along one edge to yield enough to make an open loop figure 8 wing. The fibers are tied in at their midpoint, and each end is looped back to the outer edge of the loop on the opposite side of the hook before they are tied down at the tie-in point.

 

Having been raised in Central Texas, and still doing most of my fishing there, I must say that I have never seen a dragon fly with a 'curved-under' abdomen. Furthermore, none of those that emerge from my backyard lily pond, here on the Gulf Coast of Texas, have a 'curved-under' abdomen.

 

One can make an extended foam body by placing a large darning needle in the jaws of your vise, pushing a strip of foam, appropriate in size for the hook,over the point of the needle and back to the edge of the vise jaws. Next, jamb knot your thread to the needle and advance a bout 1/16 inch up the hook, now double both 'wings' of the foam down to the hook and take 4-5 turns of thread around it. Release the foam 'wings', and take several turns of thread around the hook, as before; now pull the 'wings' down again and tie down. Repeat his process until you are down to a short 'nub' of foam left. Whip finish at the last turns going around the foam, leaving the short 'nub' open. Slide the finished 'body' off the needle. Make as many bodies as you desire this way.

 

You attach the body to the hook by the short nub still left on the body and finish as you so desire. I typically use a parachute hackle that employs the feather shaft as the post. The post is ultimately pulled forward and down through the front part of the parachute, and then tied to the hook. This produces a wing that is more like a half-circle, as opposed to a full circle in a standard parachute wing. (Pics to follow later.)

 

perchjerker

[perchjerker 0]

As promised in my last post, here are a couple of photos of one of my extended body foam bodied damsel fly, along with a finished body. The parachute hackle on this fly was tied around the stem, which serves as the post. The last photo is of a quill bodied dragon fly that I have in my collection of "vintage" bass bugs and flies. I have six of these. The bodies are either Goose or Turkey quills with carved cork heads tied onto the front end, and with very large painted on eyes. The wings are apparently of some type of long whitish hair, as opposed to a synthetic. The hair is quite a bit longer than the pieces of polar bear that I have, but that is what it resembles.

 

perchjerker