Hula Damsel

When damsel nymphs actively migrate to the shallows their active swimming motion poses a problem for fly designers: The damsel's head remains stationary while the abdoment/tail moves rapidly side to side. Many have tried to design damsel nymphs to duplicate this motion (little plug lips, off center material application, even twister tails). "To mimic the sinusoidal movement of the damsel, I chose to use two hooks linked with a piece of mono. The key here is how the two hooks are joined. The articulated abdomen moves horizontally and not vertically. As the fly is stripped through the water, the abdomen does move from side to side just like the hula, hence the name. * The eyes on the natural are huge and the most prominent feature of the head. I chose a stout short hook with a wide gape on which to build the eyes, head, and thorax with great hooking power and penetration. * For the legs, I use CDC for its long thin tendrils as it moves through the water, suggesting movement. * I add a bead under the thorax so when the fly stops moving, it dives, just like it does in nature. * I use medallion sheeting that has been tinted with a marker to suggest a shiny wingcase and tone down the shininess of the bead. * For the abdomen, I use a long dry fly hook wrapped with D–Rib to define the segmentation and translucency of the body. Ostrich was a natural choice for the "Tail" appendages for its movement as it is drawn through the water. I also drew the ostrich herls along the sides of the abdomen as gills and to further enhance the lateral movement of the abdomen." Fly and Words by Signature Tyer Herman deGala