Updated
← Back to map
Hatches › Damsel / Dragonfly
Zygoptera · suborder
Slim, active stillwater bugs whose swimming nymphs and fluttering adults can pull hard takes.
Category
Damsel / Dragonfly
Category
The insect or forage category for this profile.
Size
Nymphs and adults are generally medium to large compared with many trout insects; adults are long and thin rather than bulky.
Size
Typical size range anglers imitate on the water.
Key stages
Egg, Nymph, Emergence, Adult
Key stages
Life stages most relevant to fly fishing this hatch or forage.
Water types
Ponds, Lakes, Slow rivers, Backwaters, Wetlands
Water types
Water types where this bug or forage is commonly found.
Damselflies are predatory insects in the suborder Zygoptera, related to dragonflies but smaller and slimmer. Their nymphs are aquatic in fresh water, and both nymphs and adults actively hunt other insects, making them a dependable food source for trout where they are abundant.
Also known as: Damsel
Female damselflies deposit their eggs on or within aquatic plants, typically in or near water.
Eggs hatch into aquatic nymphs, also called naiads. These underwater creatures are fierce predators and an important food source for fish.
When ready, the naiad climbs out of the water. Its exoskeleton splits open, allowing the adult damselfly to emerge.
Adult damselflies are agile fliers with slender bodies and narrow wings. They complete the reproductive cycle before dying.
nymph
Fliesbyaspeen
Materials
Emergence
Joe Penich Custom Flies
Materials
adult
Davie McPhail
Materials
Damselfly
One species, multiple rivers.
