Amphibious Damsel

A fly meant to be fished both dry and wet.

Amphibious Damsel

I had tied this fly for a recent trip to some lakes with large numbers of damselflies hoping that we would find fish feeding on adult damsels.  After a day of mostly fishing chironomids and callibaetis nymphs, we were walking back to the trailhead along the shore when Curtis told me that he had done well in a certain bay last year with hoppers.  When we passed that bay, instead of a hopper, I tied on the amphibious damsel and decided to toss it out.  In three casts, I had three aggressive takes, even though I only landed one of them (rookie mistakes...).  After all of the aggressive fish had eaten, I decided to swim the fly right under the surface after letting it sit for about 10 seconds.  I lost count of the takes using this method, but it opened my eyes to a technique that I had not tried very much.  I knew that damselflies deposited their eggs under the water, but I never really tried to fish an adult this way.  Lesson learned.

~ Cheech

Material List

Hook: Allen N203 BL, Daiichi 1130, or Gamakatsu C12 all in size 10 or 12
Thread: UTC Ultrathread 70 Denier Black or Blue  -- Buy Here --
Eyes: 50# mono burned ends
Tail: Adult damsel body braid --Buy Here-- (Stripes made with black sharpie)
Wing: Medallion sheeting - buggy light dun, clear or white  -- Buy Here --
Legs: Grizzly hackle. Try the new Hebert Miner Capes for these. Awesome price!!
Floatation: 2mm tying foam, Blue.  -- Buy Here --