• Hook: TMC 5212, #8-12
• Thread: Olive UTC 70
• Eyes:  Wapsi X-small mono eyes (burnt mono eyes will work)
• Tail: Medium olive marabou
• Abdomen: Small olive D-Rib
• Wingcase: Olive scudback
• Thorax: "Damsel Fly" SLF Dubbing
• Dubbing Legs: "Golden Straw" Whiting Brahma Hen Saddle

      The Skinny Water Damsel is the product of a very long summer of guiding on a spring fed lake with some very large, very picky rainbows that snubbed fly after fly.  Every morning, the fish would cruise the shallows (often in less than 18” of water) eating damselfly nymphs migrating towards shore to hatch.  We would get follows and inspections all the time, but the fish seemed to always shy away at the last minute.  After A LOT of samplings of the naturals, I decided I needed a fly with less action in the water but a more realistic profile.  Damsel fly nymphs have a slender, translucent, segmented abdomen and tail and have prominent round black eyes.  I wanted a fly with the same features.  All winter long I tinkered with various patterns in anticipation of the next season.  This one proved the winner. Give the Skinny Water Damsel a try next time you encounter some picky stillwater fish and see if it doesn’t do the trick for you.

Directions

1. Start the thread about one eye width back from the eye and secure the eyes with figure eight wraps.
2. Strip off about half the individual fibers on each side of a marabou feather and tie in behind the eye.
3. Wrap your thread back to a point above the barb, taking care to keep the marabou on top of the shank.
4. Secure the D-Rib so that the flat side is facing you.
5. Wrap the thread forward to within 2 eye widths of the mono eyes.
6. Wrap the D-Rib up the shank, taking care to make sure each wrap butts right up to the previous wrap, leaving no gaps on the abdomen. This gives the fly both a segmented and translucent look
7. Tie off the D-Rib and tie in your olive scud back
8. Dub your thorax up to the eyes and pass your thread over the eyes so it is in between the hook eye and the black mono eyes.
9. Cut a V-notch in the hen saddle feather and secure it on to the hook shank to form the legs.
10. Pull the scudback over the head and mono eyes and tie off. 11) Whip finish the fly and you are ready to fish!