Dragon Fly Nymphs & Fly Fishing
This dragon fly nymph pattern is tied on a size 6 hook. The plastic eyes (pick your color) were tied in on top of the shank with figure 8 thread wraps. The abdomen of the fly is created by selecting olive green and rusty brown marabou plumes. Each plume is tied in by the tip. The plume is wrapped or palmered up the shank in tight turns. The colors are alternated. The abdomen was created with 3 olive and 3 brown plumes. Once the palmering is completed the abdomen is shaped with sharp scissors or a razor blade. Here I used scissors. The intent is to shape a football like body. It looked pretty good to the naked eye. My nemesis, the macro lens, shows a more ragged shaping. I think my palmering was not closely spaced enough.
Next, I tied a dark brown, hen hackle collar. A wingcase was created from 5-10 strands of Rootbeer Krystal Flash. The strands are tied in with the tag ends toward the rear extending back a quarter inch. The wingcase is positioned back, out of the way, and a thorax is dubbed with dark olive rabbit fur (with guard hairs) around the eyes up to the hook eye. The wingcase is then pulled over the top of the thorax and then tied down. Trim off the excess and create a thread head.
Another method, that I have experimented with, is inserting marabou into a dubbing loop and spinning a loose noodle of marabou (don’t do it too tightly). These dubbing noodles are tightly wrapped also. The body is again shaped. I have not experimented with it enough on smaller flies.
SwittersB & Exploring 