Bodkin / Patterns

Electric Lettuce Damsel

Nymph · Stillwater · Trout · Intermediate · 1 version

BCFlyguys

  • Thread Chartreuse

Materials

  • Chain eyes, extra small, coated with fluorescent chartreuse UV resin Fluorescent chartreuse gulff uv resin (1 pair, pre-tied)
  • Marabou Light olive marabou (tail)
  • Ultra Wire, extra small Chartreuse ultra wire (rib)
  • Electric lettuce dubbing blend: one part light olive rabbit, one part olive rabbit, one part dark olive Ice Dub Olive ice dub (body and thorax)
  • Scud Back, pre-notched Olive thin skin mottled (wing case)
  • Clear nail polish (durability)

How to tie it

  1. Coat extra small chain eyes with fluorescent chartreuse UV resin and a coat of clear nail polish before you start, and notch the olive Scud Back wing case while it is still off the fly. Both jobs are far easier at the bench than at the vise.
  2. Start chartreuse thread on the hook, tie the pre-tied chain eyes in at the front, and tie in light olive marabou for the tail, wrapping over the butts down the shank so the tail cannot rotate.
  3. Tie in chartreuse extra small Ultra Wire and bring it right back to where the tail is tied in.
  4. Dub a very sparse noodle of the electric lettuce blend. Run a little clear nail polish along the shank first to anchor the dubbing, then wrap it forward in touching turns to the chain eyes and take a whip finish there for durability.
  5. Rib forward with the wire in the reverse direction to the way you dubbed, tie it off and helicopter it out rather than cutting it and blunting your scissors.
  6. Set the notched wing case so the forked section reaches back about halfway down the body, using ever-increasing tension on each turn to walk it into place.
  7. Bring the thread forward, dub a very sparse noodle behind the wing case and in front of it, figure-eight it over the eyes, then stretch the wing case forward, secure it and trim. Shorten the tail fibres if needed and tease the body out with a dubbing brush.

Tying videos

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