Dragonfly Design

So I have been thinking about building a dragonfly.  Fishing with hoppers is great, but they haven't been nearly as effective as they were a couple weeks ago or even in years past.  I wasn't sure how to approach it from both a durability and realistic point of view.  I also wanted to approach it as a stinger style of fly, not just a single hook with a long body.  I had fished some foam creations, some hair creations and a couple hybrid combinations.  I was never really satisfied because of all the missed strikes and all the takes at the tails, hence the stinger. I'm pretty happy with the design, they are pretty durable but really, pretty bulky and tough to throw.  They're effective and in the afternoon when nothing seems to be alive but the bugs, plopping one of these on some glassy water is sure to wake up even a sleeping gator.  Well, maybe not but they sure do work and with that little nymphing size 12 stinger on the back, those sipping, gentle takes are now guaranteed hook-ups.  The stinger is tied on frog hair 3x and the knot is glued with guerrilla glue.  Where the tail is tied onto the shaft of a size 6 or 8 (long shank or not),  is also locked down with guerrilla glue.  The tail, once spun, is lightly coated with guerrilla glue, which makes it one durable son-of-a-gun!  I'll be making it a hybrid soon with foam and  weed guards.  For now though, I'm looking forward to crashing some lillie pads, some banks and some cat-tail stands. You gotta match the hatch!

I start with about 30 long elk hairs, maybe from the chest or the back of the thighs.  The hair needs to be stiff, buoyant and have a little character to its coloring.  I like to use brown 6/0 thread, I'm sure black can be used and even 8/0 could be used.

Tie the nymphing hook, a size 12, 14 will work.  I use 3x Frog Hair because the stuff is insanely strong.  It's got a little stiffness to it but not enough to make it too tough to work with.

I shave down a toothpick so I can place small drops of glue, precisely where I need them.

Once I tie the hook I use a tiny drop of glue to make sure it's set.  It's over kill but why not? 

Before you line the end up the elk hair, make sure you put an overhand knot in your thread.  Trust me, it makes spinning the hair and leader easier.  While spinning the tail make sure the leader is incorporated and roll the whole thing together.

As you spin you want to make nice, neat rotations up the length, from the butt ends to the near end.  You want to stop about 1/2" to 3/4" from the tip.  The few hairs in the tip with the stinger hook, should ride just within the surface film.

When you reach the butt ends, take a couple wraps for strength, and criss-cross the loops down the shaft.  Odds are you will cut it off, but again, why not?

Pull the tag end of your leader to tuck your hook-knot just against the the end.  How you want to apply the coating of glue is totally up to you.  I use my fingers and clean up after, I have yet to get stuck but I'm sure my day is coming.

Set the tail aside to dry, and make another one.  Here's the thing, don't glue and make another one.  Leave the gluing until the very end.  Make a bunch of tails, it's a great way to kill a couple of hours.

Lay the tail out so it's about 3 inches long, give or take.  I make some longer and some shorter just because you don't know what's hovering sometimes.  

I lock the tail down on the hook for about 2/3 of the hook.  When it's initially locked down on the main hook shank, I loop 5 to 10 times around the tail and 2 under the tail, then repeat the whole length 10/2, 10/2.

When the tail is fully tied I glue the whole thing.  Make it tough, because you never know what is going to sip the tail or crash the fly!

Run the thread back to bend of the hook.  You want to start dubbing from around the barb and work your way towards the eye.

I make a pad for the wings on the area where the cut tail ends.  I build up the dubbing and make a decent thorax for the wings.

Now the wings are kinda goofy. I make mine out the plastic that my crystal flash comes in.  I'm not really sure what it is?  I don't know what its name is?  Maybe Staples would know?  That will have to be something I blog about at a later time.  I'll have to find a replacement soon anyway.

Here's the other goofy part.  I know all of us fly fisherman look at things differently so this should be no surprise.  I use Popsicle sticks, that I shaped into the form I wanted to use for wings as a template.

What's cool about this is it eliminates the need to trim the wings.  I cut the plastic and pinch it between the sticks.  I then burn the edges with a lighter.  It reinforces the edges with a bit more plastic and it makes things simple. Burn one side, flip, repeat, simple.

Locking the wings onto the wing pad is not fun.  They do not seem to line up right, they crinkle and fold and are all the way around annoying.  Locking the second set in is just as tricky if not more than the first, be careful.  They are locked in with figure eight style loops and a couple drops of glue.  It's something you have to take your time with, there is no easy or simple way to do it.  If you pull too much, you cut the plastic, if you don't pull enough it wont be cinched in.  The glue is just a redundancy against wind resistance.

Once the wings are locked in I like to tie in my piece of purple chenille for the head.  I don't think any more than two or three wraps is necessary to build up the head.  I suppose the nose can be whip finished, but I usually just throw in a couple half-hitches and glue it down.

Once the fly is tied, I put a couple streaks or some kind of scribble on the wings to break them up.  After that, the fly is in essence done.  Nothing needed now but to try it out and bring along a couple friends.

Good luck!

TheLazyFisherman