Marabou Damsel

Try using this pattern in May and June, fishing it in the bulrushes and cattails.

 

 

  SketchUp Pro 2016 online

 

FISHING METHOD:  Floating line with 10 -18 Ft leader.  Use a slow to medium retrieve (2 – 6 seconds for each hand twist) with a couple 2 – 3 inch pulls every 15 – 30 seconds. Try keeping this fly near the weeds; bring it off the bottom and over the weeds. Let the pattern fall back to the bottom and start your retrieve over. 

TYING NOTES:

1. First pinch your barb, lay down a thread base to the bend of the hook. 
2. Tie in the ribbing the length of the body. 
3. For the tail, use 10 – 15 strands of marabou. The tail length should be about the length of the hook shank. Tie in the tail, now double back with the marabou to the start of the tail. This will be the body material if it is long enough. Secure and flatten the marabou with tying thread.
4. Twist the marabou around the tying thread and wrap the body ¾ up the shank of the hook.
5. Counter wind the ribbing material up the hook (5-7 wraps). Tie off and break the ribbing material by wiggling the wire back and forth.
6. Tie in 8 -10 pheasant tail fibres with the excess facing forward over the eye of the hook.  
7. Tie in and secure the eyes using a figure eight pattern.
8. Tie in 8 – 12 marabou fibres for the beard. The length of the beard should be about 1 ¼ length of the hook shank. Twist the excess marabou around the tying thread and wrap over the tied thread, leaving the tying thread behind the eyes.
9. Pull the wing case material back over the eyes and secure the wing case. Do not trim the wing case material at this time.
10. Add a small amount of glue to the tying thread, and whip finish the fly.
11. Trim the wing case back from the tie off point, leaving about 3 – 4 mm stub of pheasant tail material.

Finishing the fly this way keeps the glue off the body material.