Damsel Nymph - The Wannabe Damsel!

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

All this damsel nymph tying of late - THANKS, Jedi Dick - led me to experiment.

Combining the usual materials with whatever was on hand, I came up with a raggedy looking damsel nymph simulation. Considering how shabby it turned out, I'm officially calling it the Wannabe Damsel.

Materials

Hook - #12 Nymph Hook

Thread - Olive, 210 Denier flat waxed nylon

Tail - Olive marabou

Body - Woven chenille, Leather brown and Medium Green

Eyes - Bead chain, small

Legs - Green feather quill fibers

Wing case - 1/4" strip cut from grey WalMart plastic bag

I attempted to break up the usual overall olive color seen on these simulations, to create some contrast. I'm a big proponent of the Contrast Concept. In Nature, damsel nymphs are seen in a range of colorings, from tan to nearly black. My attempt is towards a "generic color blend" that can fit a wide range of environments.

The tying was pretty straightforward for this pattern, so I wont go too far into it here. There are any number of similar ones you can model after on the internet, which is just what I did. The technique of weaving two different color chenille strands together has me a bit stumped, but I'll get it eventually.

Here's how the fly ended up:

The funky little 'Wannabe Damsel'

Pretty rough looking thing, aint it?

Angling Notes:

This was a simple presentation: Cast, count to three and strip retrieve one foot at a time. Rest for a second between each strip  The pond here is shallow and weedy, so you cannot let it sink too deeply. The hook rides up, but I still have to keep it within 18"-24" of the surface.

Fortunately, the fish aren't particular. I could count on a strike within this initial presentation, or not at all. All the strip retrieving in the world thereafter wouldn't change this. So it was cast, count 1-2-3, and three strips. If nothing happened, slowly lift the rod, back cast and do it over again, 2-3 feet further down the shoreline.

Apparently, the "Fly Anglers Theorem," i.e., 'Fish Will Take That Which *Looks* Like Food Under Most Circumstances,' holds true. Several fish took a swipe at the Wannabe, as rough as she is, and three fell to the hook. Here's one of them:

SO Im calling this a success in my stained, weedy waters. Adding legs to the fly seems unnecessary at this point; but, I'll keep using them since they are easy enough to tie on.

[DAVID L EITUTIS]

GREAT LOOKING TIE DAVID and I'd keep the legs no matter what they are made of . Seems Ive tried identical bugs on with legs and one with out in the past, the legged version always gets more bites for me......