Fast Food Damsel Nymph
This fly is so fast and so simple that it is almost an insult to the art of fly tying. If it wasn’t such a great producer I wouldn’t include it with all the other fine examples of tying on Hans’ page.
Instructions: Fasten the thread to the front of the hook. Do not wrap to the rear to cover the shank. Take a small bunch of marabou fibers ( a bit of experience will tell you the length and amount required) and tie in the butt end of the fibers with the tips extending over the eye. Now fold the fibers to the rear and tie down again leaving a small bubble of fibers at the head. Half hitch or tie a short whip finish at this point to secure the thread then, while stroking the fibers to the rear, spiral the thread to the rear as if you were wrapping ribbing. Whip finish at the tail and the fly is complete.
I believe that much of the success of this fly can be attributed to its sparseness. The thickest part of the natural is the head which is represented by the bubble of material tied in there. Most damsel nymph patterns suffer from being over dressed with protruding legs and wing cases that resemble SCUBA tanks. The naturals move by wiggling not by using the breast stroke and the legs are not in evidence. I never weight this fly as I want it to ride within the top few inches of warmer surface water as do the naturals when they migrate to shore. I also recommend tying this fly with the grizzly or barred maribou now on the market.