Everyone’s got a damsel pattern in their armoury, or to be more exact probably several of them so it might not seem the most attractive of tutorials to offer another one.
However this one is a very simple tie but has all the trigger points of more complex ones as well as versatile enough to be used on a host of different scenarios from stocked fisheries, to wild lochs and running water. In fact it’s actually not too shabby a saltwater pattern either.
I like this one as I feel the addition of a tungsten head over the more general brass bead helps add a little more to the action of the fly when in the retrieve, as well as the obvious increase in sink rate helping you get down to the fish quicker. That said sink rate increase might be minimal, however you might want to note that tungsten will continue to drop between ‘pulls’ so be careful you don’t end up too deep.
My favoured style is to use this fly on a floating line which helps control the depth somewhat and I love fishing it alongside weed beds or on drop offs. In a big wind it can make an excellent ‘tail’ (point) fly and help ‘anchor’ the ‘team’ helping you work a ‘dibbled bob’ through the waves better.
Where some salt water bait fish are around, this colour and flash can be pretty effective as often there is a predominant olive base colour to the small target fish making this one fit the bill perfectly although a switch to a salt water hook such as Partridge CS52 Sea Prince might help them last a little longer.
Dressing:
Hook; Sprite S2175 Barbless Competition Wet size 8 - 12
Bead; 3.3mm Gold Tungsten Bead (adjust bead size to suit fly size or desired sink rate, another variation is to vary bead colour)
Butt; Semperfli Cheeky UV Chartreuse
Thread; Semperfli Golden Olive Micro Glint thread
Tail; Light Olive Marabou with four strands of Golden Olive Micro Glint over top
Body; Tying thread under UV varnish
Thorax; Dubbing loop of Olive Glister (Veniard)
Tying Sequence:
Step 1 Place bead on hook, secure hook in vice, catch in UV butt, wind on and secure, seal with UV varnish
Step 2 Catch in thread above UV
Step 3 Catch in light olive marabou tail above UV
Step 4 Trim off waste marabou and secure with thread
Step 5 Tie in four strands of thread over tail for added sparkle. (Note prepare these before tying in thread for body)
Step 6 Form body with thread
Step 7 Secure body with UV
Step 8 Prepare thread for tying in spun dubbing thorax
Step 9 Insert desired amount of Olive Glister into dubbing 'loop'
Step 10 Spin tight then wind on dubbing loop thorax.
Step 11 Secure loop with thread and trim off waste. Whip finish but don't cut thread yet
Step 12 Take varnish and place on thread before second whip finish ensuring fully secured and head protected.
