This weekend my son and I spent a beautiful cool day rambling the swamps looking for turkeys, hogs and deer sheds. It was a great day even though we saw and heard no turkeys and our only hog opportunity was the result of getting busted and having to watch them run off through the thick stuff. Any day in the woods with my son when it’s cool enough to walk without getting hot or buzzed by mosquitoes is a good day.
We saw quite a few sights, including several alligators, but the only pic we took was of a dragonfly that had emerged and was hanging on a palmetto plant. My son took this great photo. The animal was perfect in every way, obviously still drying or just letting its wings fill with fluid.
I took the photo below, not so aesthetic as my son’s, but I wanted a close-up.
Believe it or not I had never encountered an emerging dragonfly. The photos don’t do it justice, it was a perfect animal, beautiful. The fact that it had just emerged from the small, crusty looking husk made it that much more amazing.
I’ve never tied any dragonfly nymph or adult patterns, but I’m inspired by the encounter, I have to tie a few now.
By the way, do you know how to tell if you’re looking at an adult dragonfly or an adult damselfly? The dragonfly will have its wings spread at rest, like this one, while a damselfly will have its wings folded behind, all in-line with its body.
"Samurai" Fly Shop 