Fly Tying Inventory
Lancer Damsel
Curtis Fry worked up the Lancer Damsel as a weightless, slower sinking damsel nymph for lakes where trout feed on damsels in shallow water or close to the surface. It sinks a little faster than a pattern meant to hang just under the film, yet slower than a beadhead, so it stays out of weeds and moss. The name points to Lance Egan, and the pheasant tail abdomen borrows from his style of Frenchie nymph. Mono eyes, an olive marabou tail and a pink hot spot round out the fly. Tied here on a size 10 hook.
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Materials
Fulling Mill FM5005 Heavyweight Champ Barbless, size 10
10
Semperfli Classic Waxed Thread 8/0, medium olive (or UNI-Thread 8/0 Waxed Midge, olive)
Medium Olive · 8/0
Maxima Chameleon leader material, 25 lb, with melted ends
25 lb
Grizzly marabou, olive (or fine black barred marabou, olive)
Olive
Nature's Spirit Ringneck Pheasant Center Tails, olive (or ringneck pheasant tail, olive)
Olive
UTC Ultra Wire, small, gold (or amber)
Gold · Small
Ice Dub, UV shrimp pink, for the hot spot
UV Shrimp Pink
Thin Skin, olive
Olive
Ice Dub, pheasant tail
Pheasant Tail
Premium partridge feather, olive (or Nature's Spirit Premium Partridge, olive)
Olive
Loon Fluorescing UV Clear Fly Finish, for the eye wraps and wing case
How to Tie the Lancer Damsel
- 1
Step 1
Hold a short piece of 25 lb Maxima in pliers and melt each end with a lighter so a small ball forms at each tip. These balls are the eyes.
- 2
Step 2
Start the thread behind the hook eye and tie the mono across the shank with crossing wraps so one ball sits on each side.
- 3
Step 3
Put a little Loon UV finish on the wraps and cure it so the eyes stay in place.
- 4
Step 4
Wrap the thread back to the bend. Tie in a small tuft of olive marabou for the tail, bind the butts and trim any excess.
- 5
Step 5
Tie in a small bunch of olive pheasant tail fibers and the gold wire at the base of the tail, then bring the thread forward.
- 6
Step 6
Wrap the pheasant fibers forward to form a slim abdomen, stopping well short of the eyes to leave room for the thorax and hot spot. Tie them off and trim the excess.
- 7
Step 7
Wrap the wire forward over the abdomen in an open spiral as the rib. Tie it off and trim it.
- 8
Step 8
Dub a small amount of UV shrimp pink Ice Dub onto the shank directly ahead of the abdomen for the hot spot, leaving a short gap behind the eyes.
- 9
Step 9
Tie in a strip of olive Thin Skin at the front of the hot spot, leaving it pointing back over the hot spot and abdomen for now.
- 10
Step 10
Tie in an olive partridge feather at the same point, with the stem pointing forward past the eyes and the fibers along the sides. Draw the stem forward to shorten the legs, then cut it.
- 11
Step 11
Dub a short thorax of pheasant tail Ice Dub from the front of the hot spot up to the eyes.
- 12
Step 12
Pull the Thin Skin forward over the thorax and between the eyes, tie it down behind the hook eye and trim the excess.
- 13
Step 13
Whip finish the thread at the head and cut it away.
- 14
Step 14
Coat the wing case with Loon UV finish and cure it with a UV light.
Watch Tying Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A98DM7-JNKc
Credit: Curtis Fry / Fly Fish Food