BABY DAMSEL

SUBMITTED BY: Ruben Breitkreutz


Fly Tied and Photo taken by Ruben Breitkreutz

This pattern was tied by Brian Chan at the 2001 outdoor show. Try using this pattern in early session, fishing it in the bulrushes and cattails.

FISHING METHOD :Floating line with 10 -16 ft leader. Let the fly sink to about the 3 ft level or just off the bottom. Use a slow retrieve (2 - 4 inches for each full hand-twist) with a pause after each hand-twist. Use a 9 - 12 ft leader with the same retrieve for sinking lines. In deeper water, fish the fly off the bottom  with a steady rise. Pausing the fly every 5 - 10 seconds.

 Hook  Curved shrimp hook size 12-14
 Thread  8/0 Olive
 Bead  Gold bead - small 1/8  inch
 Tail  Strung marabou - olive
 Ribbing  Copper wire - fine
 Body  Marabou - olive

TYING NOTES:

  1. First pinch your barb, then slide the bead on the hook. Secure the bead with tying thread.

  2. Lay down a thread base to the bend of the hook.

  3. Tie in the ribbing the length of the body.

  4. For the tail use 10 - 15 strands of marabou. The tail  length should be about 1 ½ times the hook shank. Tie in the tail, now double back with the marabou to the start of the tail. This will be the body material if it is long enough.

  5. Secure and flatten the marabou with tying thread.

  6. Twist the marabou around the tying thread.

  7. Wrap the body and tie off behind the bead.

  8. Counter wind the ribbing material up the hook (5-7 wraps). Tie off and break the ribbing material by wiggling the wire back and forth.

  9. Add a small amount of glue to the tying thread, and whip finish the fly.

Finishing the fly this way keeps the glue off the body material.