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

Don't try to sell Meth to a Crackhead

What I mean to say is there is no similarity between a Pumpkin Latte and a regular latte.  Yeah, I said it!  I'm a grown ass man having a tantrum about not getting my Pumpkin Latte.  It's funny, normally I would never drink such a thing, yet here I am writing bout not having one.  These are strange days we live in.  Maybe the Mayans were right, because the younger me would kick my ass, "Pumpkin Latte".  I'm not going to  plug the manufacturer of said, exquisitely-delicious-crack&butter filled cup of ecstasy.  No, I will let you assume you know which one it is and allow you to chastise me for it.

The girl was a sweetheart, she laughed and snorted when I told her not to sling meth to a crackhead.  Her manager didn't find the fact that they were out of product very amusing and I get it.  As soon as they announced they were out of Pumpkin-crack, at least 5 people hopped line.  That got me to thinking?  What if I brewed my own pumpkin-crack and sold it to people?  The sheer volume of people that drink a Pumpkin Latte is staggering.

Here is an establishment, we will call it school-house drug dealer.  You know, the guy at the end of the block that gives you stuff for free to get you hooked.  Just like in those after-school specials, "pssssst, hey kid,     ca-mere I got something your gonna love".  They are right, I love my Pumpkin-Crack, it's just a shame that it is going to be taken away soon. Just like the pusher-man on the corner. "Thing is though kid, I only have enough for you to try it and like it, then I'm taking it away"!  That's just not right!

It's a shame that Pumpkin-crack is so addicting.  If it weren't, I suppose it wouldn't be such a big seller.  Maybe it's the butter?  Maybe it's the MSG?  I have no idea what is put into the magical cups of goodness, but I do know they are awesome and I need to go find a purveyor of Crack&Butter filled ecstasy.  Maybe I'll set up a lemonade stand, cross out (Lemonade) and scribble in with a crayon Pumpkin Ecstasy?  That way instead of being a consumer, I can become a distributor.  Just like the guy in the after school movie, except I carry carafe's instead of baggies.

Match the Hatch

It's funny, I have been reading Lefty Kreh's book, "Fly Fishing in Saltwater" and was thinking about writing a little something about it on here.  That was until I ran across a post by Moldychum, "Matchin the Hatch".  A basic dry fly fishing idea, and there was a real nice False Albie as well as a beautifully tied fly.  The idea is simple, present the most readily available food source, and match the color/shape as best as possible.  Not really all that different from dry-fly hatches, or emerging insects on Northern rivers.  The idea of presenting to a rising trout, employ's the same skill as dropping a Crazy Charlie in front of a cruising Redfish.

"Matching the Hatch" by Ernest G. Schwiebert, was something I read over the summer while at my families home in Pennsylvania.  It was my grandfathers book from the 50's and it is as relevant now as it was then.  The ideas are practical and the concepts are valid, only thing is it is limited in its geography.  When I lived in the Pa., there was something magical about seining bugs, from kicked up rocks or gravel beds, maybe scooping scuds from grass-beds?  It was great to see what was scooting around in the rocks and grasses.  Now in Florida, I seldom if ever turn my back to the river and scuttle around looking for bugs.  I respect that I am not the alfa predator and instead of scouting for bugs, I scout for rising fish from my canoe.

To match the hatch around Florida for Bass, I usually check my windshield, the sides of the road, the sidewalks, and the myriad of bait-fish that are either native or migrating through the rivers. I like the top-water action and have always had a soft spot for any fish taking something from the surface.  I'm still learning the dragon fly and I know as soon as I can get one that floats correctly, I'll have a winner.  I always see bass jumping or rising to dragon flies on one particular stretch of the local river.  It would seem that if the normal terrestrial pattern fails, the splat of a dragon fly might get a rise from a stubborn bass.

Matching the hatch in saltwater is a whole other ball of wax.  I want to bring that one up another time.  I will have to pay Lefty his due, his book has been so influential for so many people.  Matching the hatch when your surf casting is a little bit simpler, because the bait has a tendency to wash a shore.  It doesn't make any easier, especially if there is a breeze or at worst a steady wind.  There is something a little disconcerting about heaving a weighted, bulky, or ridiculously large fly past your head at incredible speeds.  Thank you Moldy Chum for reminding me again why this is my favorite pastime.

Why blog about fly-fishing?  Why write about something that few people participate in and even fewer people know about?  I still like to duck and chuck but there is something completely engrossing about creating a fly and out-smarting a fish.  Sure fish are stupid, but only the ones that haven't been caught or are too hungry to care that your bait looks like a '57 Chevy.  I've caught fish on bottle caps, Wrigley's gum foil, and even a properly placed chunk of bark. However; I have never caught a trophy or brag-worthy fish, with anything that didn't look like what was natural to the river or stream.

I decided one day to become a fly-fisherman. I know, I know, one does not just simply go on Ebay,  buy all the appropriate accouterments, and wander off into a river or body of water and expect to be successful?  That is not exactly what I did, but it sure was close.  I went to a tackle outlet and bought a 2 piece,  6 weight Pflueger. I bought an Okuma SLV reel, some cheap fly line, some backing, flies and tippet from Ebay though.  I spent under $150.00 for the whole outfit from pole to fly. I was satisfied but had no idea the addiction and obsession I was unleashing upon myself.  That one week in August of 2008, was a life changing moment.

I bought all that gear for a canoe trip down the Clarion River, in Pennsylvania.  Convinced my girlfriend  (she still is) that canoeing and fishing, for 39 miles was no big deal,and that she would see so much wild-life that she would never view a river the same.  She stuck it out for the duration (sitting shotgun in a canoe for 3 days), although she twitches every time I mention Clarion, Fishing, the number 39 or Trust Me.  I digress and have to get back on point as to why I am writing this blog.  Why oh why, would an apparently normal person just decide one day, in his 30's to become a fly-fisherman?  What could make a reasonably sane person seek out one of the hardest styles of fishing and commit to it fully, to devote a colossal amount of time and resources to the pursuit of fish?  Simply put, I was home-sick.

I had moved to Florida 10+ years prior and missed my home in the hills of Pennsylvania.  I found myself happy in Florida, found myself successful, but there was something lacking and was not sure what it was?  I was missing that connection to what defined me, I was missing my home.  It was not a juvenile, first time at camp, or simply something that can be defined in a few words.  I was missing something physical, within me, that connected me to everything around.  In essence I was disconnected, detatcted from my surroundings.  I chose fly-fishing because it was what my family did, some of my more influential friends did and most importantly it was that connection to the "stuff" around me.  I looked at it as a direct, tangible line to the past, present and future, something that might reinvigorate my soul.  It did.