Bodkin / Patterns

Dainty Damsel

Nymph · Trout · Intermediate · 1 version

Reference Recipe

  • Hook 2x-long nymph hook, slightly curved, 12-14
  • Thread Olive 8/0

Materials

  • Bead Gold or black bead (2mm)
  • Tail Olive ostrich herl (Short marabou tuft)
  • Rib Fine gold (Wire, 4-5 turns)
  • Abdomen Olive ostrich herl (Slim pheasant-tail fibers)
  • Wingcase Olive thin skin mottled (Pheasant-tail fibers)
  • Thorax Olive ostrich herl (Hare's ear dubbing, sparse)

How to tie it

  1. Slide the bead to the eye, mount the hook and start olive thread behind the bead.
  2. Bind a short olive marabou tail no longer than a third of the shank. Damsel nymphs are compact, not long.
  3. Tie in the gold wire, then wrap slim pheasant-tail fibers forward to the 70% mark for a tapered abdomen and bind off.
  4. Counter-wrap the wire forward in 4-5 open turns to segment and protect the body, then helicopter it off.
  5. Tie in a pheasant-tail wingcase clump pointing back over the abdomen.
  6. Dub a small olive thorax, use half the dubbing you think, up to the bead.
  7. Sweep the wingcase forward, bind behind the bead, snip the excess, whip finish and tug a few thorax fibers out as legs.

Tying videos

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