Stalcup’s Zing Damselfly

Stalcup’s Zing Damselfly

Show

Tying Instructions

1. Attach a section of Damsel Body at the rear half of the hook shank. The length of the body section should be about 2x’s the shank length.

2. Cut a piece of Zing Wing in which the width is about that of the hook gap and the length is about equal the body. Attach the wing just in front of the body tie-down. After the first 2 x-wraps, straighten the wing so the the thread wraps do not fold the wing material, then complete with about 3-4 additional x-wraps.

3. Place a 3″ piece of poly yarn above the rear wraps of the extended body. A 1/2″ piece should be over the rear with the bulk of the poly over the front half of the hook shank.

4. Wrap the longer piece of poly around the body thread wraps behind the wing, then bring the poly under the wing and secure with thread wraps.

5. Bring the smaller section of poly over the thorax and secure with a couple of thread wraps in front of the wing.

6. Attach a small mono eye in front of the thorax with some figure eight wraps. For mono eyes, I’ve used round vinyl body material and burned the ends. Bring the poly yarn tag over the eyes and secure behind the hook eye.

7. Bring the tag back behind the mono eyes and secure with some thread wraps and whip finish. Trim the tag.

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	Tiemco 900BL, #10-12
Thread	Danville Black 6/0
Extended Body	Blue Damsel Body
Eyes	Olive Monofilament
Wing	Clear Wing
Thorax	Light Blue Poly yarn

Shane Stalcup

Stalcup’s Zing Damselfly

Stalcup’s Zing Damselfly was designed by the late Shane Stalcup. Shane was an innovative fly tier out of Boulder, Colorado. He tended to use newer synthetic materials to closely imitate the actual insect. Many of his patterns are very effective. The use of extended wings are usually very difficult on an adult damselfly pattern.

Due to the size, the wings tend to twist the line upon casting, making presentation difficult. Shane used Zing Wing material which is very lightweight and forgiving. Zing Wing is actually Chinese twine used to bind stacks of books. John Bett’s discovered the material from a dumpster behind Pier One Imports. Shane marketed a similar product called Medallion Wing Sheeting which comes in a number of colors and he probably used this material on the pattern, presently. Hareline sells a similar product called Clear Wing, and the material can be colored with a marker. Any of these three winging materials will work.

Since Damselflies emerge out of the water, they are available to the trout as a dry fly when adults are hovering close to the water and falling onto the surface, usually during late summer. Use a “Chuck and Sit” tactic when fishing stillwater areas with a few twitches every now and then. Blue is the most common color but there are also green damsels. This pattern makes an excellent presentation but should still be used under slow or stillwater conditions.