Tying Tutorial: An Unnamed Dragon

Kiley's Damzel Tails have been a material in my tying bins for multiple years now, and I still had not quite figured out the best way to utilize them.  Knowing dragonfly nymphs are a key food source for local creek fish and carp, I kept at it and finally have what I think is my best pattern using the Damzel Tails.  This fly pattern might look complex but it's not all that difficult to produce.  Combining the bent shank hook with medium bead chain eyes gives the fly enough mass to sink slowly and still ride point-up.  Here's the recipe for the pattern:

Hook - DaiRiki 700B size 10
Thread - rusty brown 6/0
Tail - Kiley's Damzel Tail (olive)
Tag - Arizona Diamond Dub (copper olive)
Shell Back - Kiley's Exo Skin (purple/olive)
Abdomen - Stonefly Chenille (olive/black)
Rib - 4lb mono
Eyes - Medium black bead chain
Legs - MFC Sexi Floss (barred olive)
Thorax - Arizona Diamond Dub (copper olive)

To begin, tie in the Damzel Tail to the top of the shank by the rubbery tag.  Make sure this is tied securely.  If not, they can spin on you a bit.

I add a small tag of Diamond Dub on the bottom of the Damzel Tail simply to add some "body" to the tail.  It doesn't hurt that it adds a glimmer of flash, also. 

Next is, in my opinion, the trickiest part of the fly.  Tie in the shell back (I used Exo Skin) to the underside of the hook shank.  Working around the hook point can be a bit of a pain. 

Tie in the chenille a little ahead of the bend of the hook shank, tying it down all the way back to the base of the tail.  This will help add some body to the fly.

Add in the 4lb mono ribbing (you could sub any ribbing you'd like: wire, tippet, etc...).  I leave a bit of space between the ribbing material and the chenille for a good complete turn of chenille behind the ribbing.

Wrap the chenille abdomen forward to the bend of the hook shank, tie it off, and trim the excess.  You can see the space I left between the ribbing and the chenille now.

Stretch the Exo Skin forward (I pull it fairly tight) and tie it down.  Do not trim the excess, it will be used to finish the fly.

Rib the abdomen, tying off the ribbing material and cutting off the excess.  The last two ribbed portions will be ribbed with the tying thread.

Folding the shell back rearward and anchoring it down will both keep it out of the way and provide a little bump to the body that I like.

Tie in your bead chain eyes now, leaving a bit of space between them and the hook eye.

Now the sloppy part: dealing with the legs.  I tie a single strand of Sexi Floss to each side of the fly, angling it rearward towards the tail.  They will tend to stick straight out until you add the dubbing for the thorax.  I also double over a strand of Sexi Floss creating a pair of legs on each side between the end of the abdomen and the eyes.  Do not worry about where these are trying to lay now, th dubbing will help control them.

Dub a somewhat chunky thorax of Diamond Dub.  Use the dubbing to help push the rear legs back, as well as spread and prop out the front legs.  If the leg material is too unruly, using a small hair clip or a few wraps of wire to tame the rear legs can help.

Pull the shell back over the thorax behind the eyes and tie it down with a couple of tight turns of thread.

Dub the head with Diamond Dub going around the eyes and finishing behind the hook eye.  Pull the remaining shell back up to the hook eye and tie it down tightly.  Whip finish, then pull the Exo Skin tight and trim it as close to the eye as you safely can.

Trim the legs to the desired length and you're done.  I trim the rear legs to about the length of the tag of dubbing under the Damzel Tail, and the front legs much shorter/stubbier.  If you wanted to add a clear coat to the shell back, like a UV product, that's entirely up to you.  I choose not to do so because I intend to fish these for carp, and I avoid head cements or any products that might carry a chemical odor on carp flies.  Even with most carp flies on which I have used no cements, I will usually rub some silt into the fly before I fish it to try to knock any human odor off the fly (or conceal it).  I have seen carp refuse flies at the last second a lot where I have used UV resin or Liquid Fusion to form heads, so I do believe they smell something unnatural and refuse some flies.  Tie up a few dragons, fish them hard, and let me know if they catch fish for you!