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Do any of you folks use this Dragonfly Nymph pattern? Does it work for you? Do you fish it on a floating line or sinking line? I have tied one (original pattern, no tail like the natural) and intend on giving it a try (we have size 8 brown/tan colored ones here) but am mainly wondering if it works best on a floating line or on a sinking line. Thanks.
Good Afternoon Robert,
Yes, I fish that fly a lot and have tied them in black sz #8 and #10. I also have tied them in a fluoroscent green. I use WF/F 3wt,4wt and also 5wt fly lines with a leader about 7 ft since blugills and bass don't seem to be leader shy. I LOVE that fly.
Thanks, gerri. Well, I put the Skip Morris Predator in the water and it swims okay with the floating line and my 9 foot leader but I didn't get any fish this afternoon on a Damsel nymph (I can almost always count on a fish biting a Damsel nymph on a lake or canal) or the Predator. I tried a lot of different patterns. The LMB (Largemouth Bass) were chasing minnows and I did manage to break in my new 5wt. on a little one pound LMB that went for a #6 minnow crease fly. It was the only fish of the afternoon even though I got a lot of bites on the minnow crease. The wind was very bad after a weather front had moved through last night so the fish were not very cooperative.
The predator as originally tied by Skip Morris has worked well for me. I also use the same technique with thicker foam to tie a shorter bodied floating beetle that works really well also. Apparently a lot of people have stumbled onto this besides me, as Mr. Morris himself did an article in Fly Tyer several issues ago updating his pattern for the same purpose.
http://www.flyfishohio.com/Predator.htm this link will take you to tying directions and a bit of information about how I fish the Morrisfoam Predator on stillwaters and creeks. It's a great fly for smallmouth, largemouth and bluegill.
Joe C.
My understanding was that the original intent was to fish it on a sinking line. That being said, I am sure that it works well on a floating line as well.
There are a number of foam and floating flies that could be fished on a sink line for that "sink-and-rise" action.
Don't worry I will be giving it a try on my sinking line also :D. I tied up one of Joe's versions in a size 8 also. Problem is I am not always fishing from my catamaran. A lot of times I go to the little lake at Sun-N-Lake (this lake has no name but it sees a lot of fishing pressure as a residential development community lake with recreational facilities) that is about a five minute drive. But its worth it for a five minute drive. So I am bank, dock, and walk bridge fishing at that lake. Sun-N-Lake may not take too kindly to me putting my cat on that lake but I sure would like to :D. So far, I've only caught about 4 little LMB and one little Bluegill out of it. I'm beginning to wonder if there are any larger fish in that lake :roll:. My results are obviously limited on that lake due to only bank fishing.
Robert, I've been pursuing dragon fly nymphs lately and in answer to your question..it is definitely mainly meant to fish on a sinking line..[and as said above I suppose it will work on a floating line also] ...the idea is though to have these floating dragon fly nymphs fished a little off the bottom.Quote:
Originally Posted by dixieangler
In case you haven't seen it Skip Morris has an article on just this subject in the Winter 2007 of Flyfishing & Tying Journal..."Morris on Nymphs that float....and he discusses 3 such nymphs..of course one is the Predator.
It didn't work so well on my slow full sinking line as it wanted to stay afloat even after the sinking line sunk (and yes I do have a fluorocarbon tippet on). Maybe I ought to get a fast sink tip?