The normal damsel fly nymph tends to be rather thin a longish.
Many of the ties for them look fat and juicy…even short…granted the marabou used in most of them thins in the water…
Do any of you have any strong feelings as to which fishes better…
slender or fat???
damselfly nymphs vs dragonfly nymphs???
damselfly nymph (thin)
http://www.bugsurvey.nsw.gov.au/html/popups/lge_da-ny_col.html
vs
dragonfly nymph (fat and juicy)
http://www.bugsurvey.nsw.gov.au/html/popups/lge_dr-ny-b_col.html
I agree with Norm. You are confusing them with dragonfly nymphs which are quite fatter and shorter. For my damsel nymphs I tie them about a size 8 or 10 an use a very slender marabou tail and body with big plastic nymph eyes. the eyes are usualy the same color about as the body but a little darker olive. I usually use light olive marabou labeled for woolly buggers wrapped around the shank with green wire for a ribbing. I think the eyes being bigger make a difference in nibbles and how the nymphs look when wet.
I like the Marabou Damsel Nymph. Link below.
But I like it in a size 10, wire rib, and all black flashback with small beadchain eyes. This one works well for me. I matched this nymph with the natural on my home waters. Although it is short, the abdomen narrows to long and thin looking like the natural when wet in the water. So I typically don’t use the longer hooks which would make the abdomen and tail longer than the abdomen and tail of the natural for the same size. But that is just my preference.
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I’m still looking for a good dragonfly nymph. I like the one Norm posted. 
Duckster,
I’ve also noticed this.
The ones I tie are very similar to the one Normand posted. I think mine are on a bit longer shank, though. The damsel nymphs we have out here are very long and thin, and I try to mimic that as much as I can.
Never had much luck with dragon nymphs, though I did tie and fish a few of them.
Buddy
This post is not about Dragon fly nymphs .
Norm, note I said…“The normal damsel fly nymph tends to be rather thin a longish.”…so we are in agreement…no confusion.
Chris, try not to be too dogmatic…"You are confusing them with dragonfly nymphs "… I know the difference.
I have a rather large file of Damsel nymph fly patterns tied by a variety of tyers and many are relatively fat and short…
I also have a file on Dragon fly nymphs…with some pretty good patterns…
Believe I’ll add Norm’s pictures to both files …his ties are always quality…
I’m working on a Damsel fly articulated pattern and I was wondering…as I asked originally…
"Do any of you have any strong feelings as to which fishes better…
"
Probably the fish don’t care and take those patterns for many things but I figured maybe some folks here would have some strong experiences.
BTW, Buddy, I’m thinking Dragon flies are harder to fish because they crawl around in the bottom debris most of the time.
Sorry duckster, I meant to say I think in front of that but brain f!^@*@(ed it out of the message. :shock:
they come from www.flyfishusa.com
I have been struggling with coming up with a “better” damsel fly nymph for a while now. What I have come up with so far is very long and thin.
It is a lot like Normands flies shown above. but with a much longer tail. up to an inch and a quarter. I can always cut them shorter if that seems nessissary.
I tye on a size 12 or 14 hook, leave a long tail. wrap the maraboo for the body, segment the body with red wire, put make a shell back with 3 or 4 strands of peacock, covered by a peice of plastic from a empty ziplock bag. For fishing in Colorado I tye it with a red bead head. In warmwater with bead chain eyes.
The short hook may miss a few strikes but I think it improves the “action” of the fly…
I caught my largest trout on the above.
Duckster…
To answer your question directly… Yes I think it makes a huge difference AND I think the fish often care a lot.
If you come up with a good articulated fly PLEASE post it here, make it a fly of the week, or better yet send it to me and we will keep it as our little secret!
Ed:cool:
I’m going to point out the incongruity of putting both bead chain, or even mono, eyes and a shell back on top of the hook.
Like a Clouser, if you put bead chain eyes on top of the hook, the fly will turn over and ride hook up. Just drop your fly in a bowl of water; you’ll see this.
If you’re going to put bead chain eyes on top of your hook, shouldn’t you put the shell back underneath?
In his book Good Flies (which I feel is very under rated), John Gierach recommends using the Daiichi 1870. According to Gierach, the dip in the hook before the eye puts the bead chain below eye, which has the property of keeping the fly from rolling over.
Steven,
A very good point that most fly tyers miss.
I WANT my hook points upwards whenever possible on all my subsurface flies.
I tie my Damsels on TDE hooks with bead chain on ‘top’ of the shank so the fly will flip and ride hook up. I tie the wing case on the bottom of the shank (I don’t use a shell back on the thorax) and thus ‘on top’ as the fly is fished.
I think many fly tyers overestimate the effect the ‘bend’ of the hook will have on how a fly will ride in the water. It takes only a very little weight to cause the fly to ‘flip’.
The use of weight wrapped on the shank on any TDE hook will usually cause it to flip, and bead chain or dumbbells on the top of the hook shank certainly will.
Buddy
I like Normad’s fly very much, but it seems too rigid to me. The damsel nymphs I have seen off the dock definitely undulate (no jokes please). I tie mine much like PastorEd explains, it is basically a modified WB. The eyes, thorax and legs are on the 3906 hook and the tail is long - mostly ostrich so that it doesn’t go all over the place, with a bit of marabou. The legs on a swimming damsel are tucked up, so the imitations aren?t really needed.
A fairly decent one can also be made like Sawyer PTN, but with a longer tail and using marabou - I learned that from Gary Borger. I have had good success with it in olive when used in trout ponds.
In Ontario the season for active damsel nymphs is about the end of June. Mostly here it is flies in the river and minnows in the lake, so I have not fished or had much success with damsels due to location and opportunity.
"The damsel nymphs no jokes please I have seen of the dock definitely undulate "…
Indeed , and that’s why the articulated idea intrigues me…[and that’s no joke:razz:]
Steve & Buddy…I’ve been using small cylinders I’ve punched out of flip flops for eyes in those situations…so I can still tie on top [I hope]…I find it easier and also don’t like to tie underneath on some shorter hooks because of impingement on the gape…as slight as it is…
Ducksterman,
I hear you about not tying underneath. But assuming the flip flop eyes don’t turn the fly over, are they so buoyant as to not allow the fly to get down at all?
-Steven
No, Steven , it hasn’t been a problem…they aren’t that big and I feel are “neutral”.
Ok, then. Cool idea.
re. The foam eyes: Good idea! I have not used them on damsels (I should give them a try - and maybe on some spring minnows in lakes too, they are near the surface at sunset) but I have used them on dragonflies. Foam ant bodies are the easiest way to get them if you don’t want to make your own.
Long and slim, like the natural.
I use many different eyes, this fly uses vinyl tubing flared with a lighter. Heavy green monofilament flared the same way is nice too. For the most part I now use a dubbed body rather than D-rib.
One of my all time favourite flies.
Shaggy…how about a recipe especially wingcase and head material[s]…
That D-rib looks awfully good …why did you change?
