How to Tie a Dragonfly Nymph
- 1). Place the hook into the vise and turn it with the hook's curve facing down and in toward the vise. Wrap the thread along the shaft, halfway from the eye hook toward the curve. Use forceps to grip the fine thread and make the wraps around the hook shank.
- 2). Place 12 inches of chenille on the upper shank and wrap it tightly around the shank up to the eye hook four times.
- 3). Wrap backward and then out with the chenille at least 20 times to shorten the length and make a thin strand of the chenille, mimicking the length of a dragonfly nymph.
- 4). Place a 2-inch section of turkey feather over the top of the hook shank and fluff it out to make the thorax of the dragonfly. Secure it to the shank with four or five wraps of the thread. Insert the eyes onto the eye hook of the fly hook itself and push it down to the thorax.
- 5). Place two pieces of the pheasant feathers up to the shank and wrap down with the thread. Trim the feathers down to 1 inch, so they mimic the dual wings of a dragonfly nymph.
- 6). Cut an 8-inch piece of the leach yarn and add it to the fly lengthwise, starting at the eyes. Wrap five or six thread coils around the leach, then cut and tuck it to secure the knot and fly. Remove the fly from the vise and smooth it down by running it between your fingers.
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