Tying Instructions: Dancing Damsel

1. Slide the copper bead onto the hook up against the eye. Attach the thread behind the bead and build a thread base behind the bead to hold the bead in position.
Step One
2. Cut about 15-20 fibers from the side of a marabou plume, keeping the tips even. Measure the length of the fibers to be about twice the shank length of the hook.
Step Two
3. Tie in the marabou at the bend of the hook. Secure the butt ends of the fibers along the shank to just behind the bead.
Step Three
4. Trim off the remaining butt ends and wrap the thread back to the tail tie-in position.
Step Four
5. Attach a piece of Krystalflash ribbing and apply dubbing to the thread.
Step Five
6. Tightly dub the body from the tail tie-in position to just behind the bead.
Step Six
7. Wrap the Krystalflash ribbing with evenly spaced wraps up to the bead and secure with thread wraps.
Step Seven
8. Trim off the end of the ribbing and secure with thread wraps. Wrap the thread to the midpoint of the shank and attach another small clump of marabou, 2-3 strands at that location.
Step Eight
9. Twist the marabou into a chenille and wrap twice the chenille twice around the shank. This forms the gills of the pattern.
Step Nine
10. Cut a thin section of Duraskin with a point on the end of the section. The point will be centered on the top of the shank just above the base of the tail.
Step Ten
11. Secure the section with two thread wraps just in front of the gills or the 2/3 position of the shank. This will be the base of the thorax.
Step Eleven
12. Pull the front piece of the skin back exposing the thorax section to dub. Apply some dubbing to the thread, loosely.
Step Twelve
13. Dub a loose thorax and secure behind the bead with thread wraps.
Step Thirteen
14. Next, we construct the legs using 4-5 marabou fibers. Attach the fibers behind the bead to each side of the shank with two thread wraps. Do one side at a time. Pull the butt ends of the marabou until the length of the legs are about the length of the shank or less. Trim off the butt ends of the marabou and secure with thread wraps.
Step Fourteen
15. Now, do the same thing on the other side of the shank for another set of legs.
Step Fifteen
16. Once the legs are set into position, pull the strip of Duraskin over the thorax with the marabou legs extending from both sides. Secure with thread wraps behind the bead.
Step Sixteen
17. Pull the skin back away from the bead and apply a couple more thread wraps between the skin and the bead. Trim off the end of the skin behind the bead and whip finish over the butt end of the skin
Step Seventeen
18. You can pinch off any of the marabou fibers from the tail or the legs to get the length you prefer.
Step Eighteen

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