Ahhh, the Bait Barn! Good to know she is still kicking. Larry still run the place?

Your dragonfly looks good, Tedrick! I'm thinking I might have to whip up a few myself. There are certain times that my local creek is covered in them!

I've worked on the design a little more and have come up with something even more realistic. Photos later..

I look forward to seeing it.

I like it!

hl&s,
Any problems with the fly wanting to twirl with the stiffer wings?

Kirk

It probably will twist like he11.. but in theory the fly 'unwinds' when it hits the water and slowly rolls on the surface and thats good IMHO.

Here's a few more dragonflys I tied up recently.

Those sure do look good. I like the variety in color.

I have yet to test the latest versions.. dang this heat! Only good fishing is in the early AM after that the bass stop feeding on top so dragonflys won't work very well!

looks good. I bought some 4xl hooks the other day for some streamers, i may have to dedicate a few to dragonflies. I'll probably stick to the soft wings, though.

Kirk

The only question I have is durability of the wings. So far the only test has been with the first versions and that soft plastic seems to hold up well. Maybe this weekend I'll get the chance to test them in the early AM when the bass are more likely to be feeding on surface pray.

When I have seen fish actually targeting the hovering dragonflies, not taking the nymphs, I have had the best luck using a gurgler about the same size. I look for a bug hovering low over the water and slap the gurgler down right under it....this will often trigger a really aggressive strike immediately. If not, I pick it up and target another hovering bug. I have had poor luck trying to actually imitate both dragon and damsel flies....but have caught a ton of fish on the nymphs.

Well I tested the latest version of the dragonfly II and as expected it twists the hell out of the line. I will combat twisting by using a micro swivel between leader and tippet. The plastic wings held up great but I didn't catch any fish to test durability but so far so good! When you consider how little time it takes to tie one and the very low cost of materials I think you will agree the dragonfly has good potential.