Uses:

Damselflies emerge out of the water, so the adults are not available to trout at hatch time. However, a few adults will fall unto the surface of the lake in August. It's an event that trout do not ignore. In fact, sometimes the fish lose patience and will leap from the water to snag a mid-air damselfly that is flying provocatively close. Unfortunately, the Hovering Remote Control Damselfly pattern has not yet been made practical and affordable.

Variations:

Most Western damselflies are either blue or green, with blue being the most common. To produce a green damsel, use a green Pantone pen to color the abdomen and green poly yarn for the thorax.

How to Fish:

If adult damselfies are around--and you see trout take them off the surface--tie on this fly and give it a few casts to see what happens. Dress it with floatant and use the chuck-and-sit presentation. Give the fly an occasional twitch as it lies on the water.

Click and Set Presentation:

All the above presentations were with wet flies. Most fly fishing on lakes is with wet flies, but there are times when a dry fly is the right choice. For example, during a Callibaetis hatch an Adams, Callibaetis Cripple, or Sparkle Dun can be very productive. Other situations include Hexagenia hatches, ant patterns on high lakes, a Griffith's Gnat during a midge hatch, and when trout are taking adult damselflies.

Use a floating line and dress your fly with floatant (unless it's a CDC pattern). Cast the fly and let it sit. If nothing happens after a couple of minutes, cast to a different place.

When you spot a cruising fish, cast ahead of it so the fly can settle before the fish arrives. If you spot a rise and the fish is not cruising, cast to the center of the rise. During a hatch it is often better to wait until you see a rise, then immediately cast to it.

A dry fly presentation in a lake has to be more delicate than in most rivers because a lake is calmer. In a river, the fly goes whizzing by in the current, and a fish has to make a quick decision. In a lake, the line, leader, and fly sit where they land and are exposed to unlimited scrutiny by suspicious trout.

This is particularly a problem under calm, windless conditions. When confronted with this situation, I do one of two things: seek wind-riffled water that will mask my line and leader, or give up on the dry and use a wet fly so the line and leader are underwater.

Another time to forget the dry is when there's too much wind or current. For example, a windy day may create so much drag that your fly is not being presented naturally. The real insects may be scudding across the surface while your fake is barely moving. You'll catch few trout on a dry under these conditions.