Has anyone ever tied an Articulated Damselfly Nymph?
Years ago, I found the 'Flicted Damsel pattern in the FOTW. I tied many of those, as they were absolute killers in small ponds down in Oklahoma.
The only problem I had with that pattern, was the extended body usually fell apart in the first few casts. The thread wraps around the marabou would slip off, and the marabou would no longer be a tightly-constrained abdomen.
I've been watching a lot of tying videos on youtube the past couple months. A couple days ago, I found one for an Articulated Hare's Ear, and a video for an Articulated Copper John.
Last night, at work, I had an idea. Do a Damsel pattern as an articulated bug. When I got home, I ran a quick youtube search, and sure enough, the same channel that I was watching had an Articulated Damsel pattern listed.
I may have to do a couple prototypes and see how they turn out. One of the lakes nearby has an absolutely huge Damsel hatch. I may have to try some Damsel nymphs next year.
Furled Extended Body Alternative
Damselflies are not a factor in the Northern Rockies freestone streams I focus on. So I have never seen, tied, nor fished a damselfly nymph.
But ducksterman's fly prompted me to do some reading about and look at a bunch of pix of damselflies, including the nymphs.
A furled extended body might prove an excellent alternative to the articulated body approach. An FEB would be cheaper, simpler, and have the advantage of better movement. And they are durable. I haven't had a problem with an FEB in the eight or nine years that I have fished a variety of flies based on the FEB platform almost exclusively.
The JARS FAOL FOTW for December 2012 and the Serendipitous PMD Emerger FAOL FOTW for May 2013 show and explain the technique for creating an FEB with incorporated tails. Combining the forward body of duck's articulated pattern and an FEB of light olive antron incorporating three pheasant tail fibers would probably make for very successful damselfly nymph pattern.
John