Realistic Fly Tying Tutorial - Emerging Dragonfly

 

Below are a few old photos taken while tying one of my first realistic flies.

Here's my first attempt at tying an emerging dragonfly. The finished fly's proportions are way off, the thorax (neck) is way too long, but i had fun creating it, and photos taken during tying are here in case you are curious how some of these flies are tyed. I like to experiment while fly tying, and occasionally discover techniques and materials that prove satisfactory, as well others that don't.

 

I started with the longest hook I had, a size 4 10 XL Partridge streamer hook. Using a pair of pliers I bent the hook to allow space for the nymph, space for the long adult abdomen and bent it so the head would face the same direction as the nymphs.

 

The next step was to form a shape for the body. I wanted the body to be hollow so the abdomen of the emerging adult could be secured inside. I used one piece of 35 lb mono tied down, and then bent with hot tweezers to create the shape.

 

Next narrow strips of super thin razor foam were tied onto the frame. The easiest way is to only have about 1” of thread between the fly and the bobbin. Hold a piece of foam sticking up on the backside of the fly, wrap two wraps round the piece then pull the other end of the foam under the fly and up the front side, then wrap a few turns to secure the piece. Then working from front to rear, wrap the thread around the frame a few times before tying on the next piece. This allows for no thread wraps over the foam and keeps the last piece from moving when tying the next piece.

 

After tying on the foam to the rear, I tied off and cut the thread, colored the foam with several shades of permanent markers. Next a piece of gray Swiss Straw was tied on each side for the first set of wings.

 

Next legs were tied on. I used 20 lb mono covered with thread. This is where the proportions of the fly started going wrong. The rear set of legs were tied on to far forward. A piece of 35 lb mono was also tied on from the abdomen to the hook to frame the rest of the hollow body

 

A short, flattened, stub of 35 lb mono was attached for the tie in point for the eyes and another set of legs were added.

 

Next, to create part of the emerging adults abdomen, I took a piece of dark blue Swiss Straw, coated it with flexament and twisted it up real tight into a rope and let it dry. This rope was then tied onto a piece of 35 lb mono, wrapped around, then painted with varnish mixed with pigment powders.

 

Two glass beads and a foam head were tied on; this is challenging, but doable. I used gray beads to look lifeless on the nymph.

 

The green adult abdomen piece was tied on the hook creating the transition between the nymph and the adult using only one hook. More foam was added, impatience to see a finish fly was setting in, so the foam was tied on too wide and thick. And the thorax is Way too long. Oh well, next attempt will be better.

 

Wings, legs and eyes were tied onto the hook to finish adult section of the emerging fly. One wing section was tied to resemble the final pull of the adult out from the nymph.

 

The adult dragonfly body and wings are coated Swiss straw. A piece of mono and glass beads comprise the head, and the legs are guinea feathers.

 

Finished fly from the front

 

Finished fly, rear view.

 

A motley crew

I hope you liked this tutorial. These photos were taken before I bought my first SLR camera, and I look forward to sharing higher quality flies and photos in the future.

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