Damselfly Parachute Red

Damselfly Parachute Blue

Fly of the Month
 
Our third article for 2015 is in two parts, Damsel Fly Part One will cover the adult stage and Part Two will cover the nymph stage. Most anglers consider damsel flies as warm, still water insects. This is somewhat true but some species are found in cold, still waters and many are found in our marginal temperature Delayed Harvest still waters in North Carolina. Thus, adult damsel fly patterns should be considered for your DH arsenal for the stillwater pools. The hatch process for damselflies begins at 60 degrees, so imitating an adult is definitely during the seasonally warm days.
 
Damsel Fly – Part One – Adults
 
Damselflies are insects 1-2 inches in size in the order Odonata which consists of Anisoptera, the dragonflies and Zygoptera, the damselflies. Damselflies are readily recognizable by their tiny cylindrical extended-body. The following are North Carolina species:
 
Amphiagrion saucium (Eastern Red Damsel) is blackish with red abdomen.           
 
Argia (Dancers) males are more brightly colored than females. Local species include: A. apicalis (Blue-fronted Dancer); A. bipunctulata (Seepage Dancer); A. fumipennis (Variable Dancer) Wings smoky-brown, brightly colored; A. moesta (Powdered Dancer); A. sedula (Blue-ringed Dancer); A. tibialis (Blue-tipped Dancer); A. translata (Dusky Dancer)
 
Calopterygidae (Jewelwing family) are Broad-Winged Damselflies with wings blackish or with blackish markings. Local species include: Calopteryx amata (Superb Jewelwing);C. angustipennis (Appalachian Jewelwing); C. dimidiata (Sparkling Jewelwing); and, C. maculata (Ebony Jewelwing or Black-Winged Damselfly) which are 56-60 mm in size.                               
                                                                                   
Chromagrion conditum (Aurora Damsel)
 
Enallagma (Bluets) are light blue with dark markings. Local species include: E. aspersum (Azure Bluet);
E. basidens (Double-striped Bluet); E. civile (Familiar Bluet or Bluet Damselfly) which are 34-40 mm in size; E. concisum (Cherry Bluet); E. daeckii (Attenuated Bluet); E. davisi (Sandhill Bluet);
E. divagans (Turquoise Bluet); E. doubledayi (Atlantic Bluet); E. dubium (Burgundy Bluet);
E. durum (Big Bluet); E. exsulans (Stream Bluet); E. geminatum (Skimming Bluet); E. hageni (Hagen's Bluet); E. minusculum (Little Bluet); E. pallidum (Pale Bluet); E. signatum (Orange Bluet); E. sulcatum (Golden Bluet); E. traviatum (Slender Bluet); E. vesperum (Vesper Bluet); and, E. weewa (Blackwater Bluet).
 
Hetaerina (Rubyspot) have wings clear with reddish spot at base. Local species include: H. americana (American Rubyspot) which are 56-60 mm in size; and, H. titia (Smoky Rubyspot).
 
Lestidae (Spread-Winged family) Damselflies are 1 1/4 - 2 " in size with wings clear wings and are common around swamps and ponds. Local species include: Lestes australis (Southern Spreadwing); L. congener (Spotted Spreadwing); L. eurinus (Amber-winged Spreadwing); L. forcipatus (Sweetflag Spreadwing); L. inaequalis (Elegant Spreadwing); L. rectangularis (Slender Spreadwing); L. vidua (Carolina Spreadwing); and, L. vigilax (Swamp Spreadwing).
 
Damselflies reproduce using indirect insemination and delayed fertilization. A mating pair forms a shape known as a “heart” or “wheel”, the male clasping the female at the back of the head, the female curling her abdomen down to pickup sperm from secondary genitalia at the base of the male’s abdomen. The pair often remains together with the male clasping the female while laying eggs within the tissue of plants in or near water. This behavior lends itself to the potential of tying a mating pair damsel fly pattern.
 
The most obvious fly pattern color is blue, followed by black, red, tan and green. Care should be taken to use fly patterns with the wings tied delta-style or even folded back. Fly patterns with th wings spread in the flying position may appear to be more realistic but the fly pattern will highly wind resistant and tend to spin your tippet into a tangle in only a few casts. Besides, for a damsel to actually end up on the water for a trout or smallmouth, the wind would need to knock the damsel down, thus the wings would likely be folded back.
 
Next time you are angling a nice still pool, remember a damselfly is readily seen and the color is readily identified. Rather than ignore the insect, imitate it!
 
Flies of the Month 5.15
(Blue, Black, Red, Tan or Green) Damsel

 

 
- Tom Adams, Alen Baker
                                   
 

Damsel Parachute
HOOK : Dry Fly, 1x long, size  8,10,12,14,16, Tiemco 100 or equivalent
Thread : 70 denier 6/0 Danville or equivalent in color to match body color
Tail : Deer body hair , dyed red, blue or olive
Body : Peacock herl
Wing Post :  Antron in dark colors
Hackle : Grizzly Rooster hackle

Directions :

1. Debarb the hook and mount in the vise.  Begin tying thread at the halfway point, cut away waste and let the bobbin hang.
2. Select a small bundle of deer hair and cut away from the skin and hold by the tips.  Gently stroke away the short hairs leaving sufficient hair to make the tail. Trim off the hair to even up.  Do not worry about the tips being even as they will be trimmed later. Tie in slightly below the half-way point on the hook shank.  Begin by positioning the hair bundle on top of the hook shank and make a soft wrap of thread while keeping the hair pinched with your fingers.  The next wrap of thread is firm and the hair will spin around the hook and the base tips will flare up. Make two more wraps to bind the hair into position while continuing to maintain the length of deer hair on top of the hook shank by pinching in place.  Note: deer body hair is very hollow and soft and too much thread pressure can sever the hair. 
3. Lift the deer body gently and begin making open thread wraps up the length of the deer while pulling the thread softly to tighten the bundle into the extended abdomen shape.  This is a somewhat clumsy maneuver at first, but becomes easier after the first couple of wraps. Hold the deer tips in your left hand, lift the deer and pass the bobbin over and around the deer, picking it back up with your right hand.  Increase the angle and repeat until you reach the length desired ( about one and one half the length of the hook ) and then begin returning the thread wraps back down the deer hair making diagonal pattern on the deer. Advance the thread to in the hook eye and return to slightly above the flared hair and let the bobbin hang.
4. Select a length of antron and tie in, on top of the hook shank, with x wraps.  Once secure on top of the hook shank, begin wrapping the antron into a post by holding the antron in your left hand and make tight, touching turns of thread up and the back down.  About 3/16ths is sufficient. Let the bobbin hang.
5. Select a grizzly rooster hackle feather that is about one and one half the width of the hook gape.  Strip about about ¼ inch of barbs away from the feather shaft and tie in to the hook at a diagonal at the base of the antron post.  Wrap the exposed shaft to the antron post in tight touching wraps while making sure the shiny side of the feather is facing out. Continue the wraps back down the post and let the bobbin hang at the base of the post.  The hackle will be vertical and aligned with the wing post.
6. Select two peacock herls and tie in immediately behind the wing post.  Advance the thread in tight, touching wraps to the eye and then back again an eyelength toward the bend and let the bobbin hang.
7. Wrap the herl in tight touching turns to build a beefy thorax, behind the post and in front leaving room to form a head.  Trim away the waste and let the bobbin hang.
8. Grasp the wing post to begin wrapping the parachute.  Make the first turn of hackle at the highest point of thread wraps, on the post, in a counter clockwise touching turns. Make as many turns as will fit.  Once the last turn is made, bring the hackle forward to the space between the eye and the herl and trap the hackle with two turns of thread. TIP: To tie off the hackle, hold the hackle at a downward angle,  then use the thread to wiggle between the hackle fibers and trap the stem against the hook. You may trap some fibers you don’t mean to, but no worry, there are plenty in place and you can trim the bad ones away to neaten the fly.  Gently lift the tied in portion of hackle that is around the wingpost to give room to make the final wraps binding in the hackle. Trim away the waste. Finish by whip finishing to form a nice head.