Don’s Damsel Nymph

Don’s Red-Eyed Wiggle Butt Damsel

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Tying Instructions

1. Place a wide gape short shank hook in vise. Apply a thread base from the eye to the shank just above the hook point.

2. Tie in a clump of marabou fibers clipped from the side of a marabou quill, about 1/2 inch of material along the quill.

3. Burn a piece of Amnesia line for mono-eyes and attach just behind the eye of the hook with figure eight wraps.

4. Tightly dub a body of beaver dubbing matching the color of the marabou to just behind the eye.

5. Attach a tan scud-back wingcase just behind the eye. Clip a point on the scud back material to secure with the thread.

6. Blend some Ice Dubbing with the Body dubbing and softly dub a thorax behind the eyes and over the eyes. Leave room behind the hook eye.

7. Pull the wingcase over the thorax and tie down behind the mono-eyes. Attach some Partridge fibers for legs on either side of the thorax. Anchor the fibers in front of the mono-eyes.

8. Bring the wingcase over the mono-eyes and tie off. Whip Finish.

9. Cut a piece of thread 3-4 inches long and create an overhand half hitch. Slip the hitch over the marabou tail and tighten the hitch about 1/2 body length behind the hook bend. Apply a second half hitch and secure the wrap with a drop of head cement.

10. Pinch off the tail fibers to the desired length.

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	TMC 2499SP-BL #8-12
Thread	Danville Olive 6/0
Eyes	(Use Amnesia Running Line)
Body	Olive Beaver Dubbing
Thorax	Olive Beaver Dubbing and Olive Ice Dub ,Blend
Tail	Olive Marabou
Back	Tan Scud Back
Legs	Olive dyed Partridge Fibers
Ribbing	Monofilament

Don Rotsma

Don’s Damsel Nymph

Designed by Guide Don Rotsma of Portola, CA. Don guides mostly on Lake Davis near Portola. Lake Davis is renowned for it’s damsel hatches and guides are renowned for tying durable, simple patterns that they can provide their clients which catch fish.

Don extends the marabou tail to 2x’s the hook length and knots the tail with thread for a simple extended body. The thorax is dubbed around the shank with a scud back wingcase. Don also utilizes Ice Dubbing Blend into the thorax dubbing and attaches Red-Mono eyes devised from Amnesia running line for an attraction effect.

Varied Colorations

Colors of the damsel nymph can vary. Generally, dark colors are in the early stages of the hatch and they will progress to a tan or golden brown. Don uses a color transition of Dark Olive, Brown, Black, Medium Olive, Golden Olive, Tan, Golden Brown.

Slow Retrieval

 According to Don, “Damsels wiggle and are very clumsy swimmers. For that reason, they need to rest a lot in their journey. Think about it! That means they move SLOWLY and then STOP often. So retrieve accordingly. Use a slow retrieve and stop frequently. If fact, sometimes the best retrieve is no retrieve at all. We call this the “heave it and leave it” retrieve. If your retrieve is not working, try a different size nymph or different color before changing the technique. If that does not work, then try different retrieves.“

Don’s Damsel Nymph

Hook	TMC 2312 #8-14
Thread	Danville Olive 6/0
Eyes	Small Mono eyes, Olive
Body	Olive Beaver Dubbing
Thorax	Olive Beaver Dubbing and Olive Ice Dub ,Blend
Tail	Olive Marabou
Back	Tan Scud Back
Legs	Olive dyed Partridge Fibers
Ribbing	Olive Micro-tubing