Butlers Bug Dragonfly Nymph Fly Recipe

Dragonfly nymphs are available to trout as a year-round food source. They are a must in your box during the summer months.  Dragonflies are vicious predators and the trout know this so their bites tend to be aggressive. You want to up the size of your tippet when fishing these patterns to avoid them being broken off on the bite. I have been snapped clean off on 8lb more than once while fishing a Dragon Nymph.

Fish this pattern on a fairly quick-sinking fly line like a type 5 or 6 because you want to crawl this fly right along the bottom. A slow retrieve with a quick, short ‘pop’ mixed in, is an effective way to fish these flies. 

Fly Recipe 

Hook: Tiemco 5263 Size 4-10

Thread: Uni 6/0 Olive

Tail/Under Body: Wapsi Natural Brown Deer Hair

Abdomen:  Seal Fur, Olive

Rib: Uni French Oval Tinsel, Gold

Thorax: Peacock Herl

Wing Case: Pheasant Tail

Legs: Montana Fly Company Legs on a Stick, Olive

Eyes: Peacock Herl Butts

Head: Peacock Herl

Tying Steps

• Tie your thread onto your hook and lay down a good base covering the hook shank.
• Stack a clump of deer hair and tie in the tips to the hook bend. The remaining deer hair can be lashed down to the hook about halfway to two thirds of the way up the shank. This adds buoyancy to the fly and prevents it from hanging up on the bottom.
• Tie in a length of oval tinsel at the back of the hook and dub a seal fur abdomen. Wind the tinsel over the abdomen, spaced wide to imitate the segmentation on the natural insect.
• Select a bunch of natural pheasant tail. Strip about half an inch off the tips and tie them in from the tip end.
• Tie in the knotted pheasant tail legs so they sweep back down along the abdomen.
• Tie in 5 or 6 strands of Peacock Herl and wind forward to create a thorax.
• Pull the clump of pheasant tail fibers over the top of the thorax to represent the wing case and trim off the butts.
• Tie in a small bunch of Peacock Herl butts perpendicular to the hook to represent eyes.
• Tie in 3 or 4 strands of Peacock Herl just behind the eyes and wrap them to represent the head of the nymph.
• Create a thread head, whip finish and apply a coat of cement.