Why are damsels so deadly?

I call them Damsels, but to tell the truth whenever I’ve spooned the trout caught on them I’ve only ever seen one Damsel Nymph and that’s from one of many, many fish taken at quite a few different fisheries, such as Bewl, Chew, Pitsford, Grafham and Rutland.

The most memorable was Pitsford last August. There were Damsel Nymphs everywhere. I caught a limit on my Damsel fly. On spooning a trout - not a damsel in sight! Oh well, they still catch me lots of fish.

I’ve noticed that in clear water conditions olive flies like these catch many trout that are feeding heavily on daphina. I’ve fished these three Damsels on all densities of fly line, mostly as a point fly with Diawl Bach and Hare's Ears as dropper patterns. Although I have also been successful fishing them on a dropper above a Booby fishing the 'washing line'. The claret hackled version has worked best early season at Chew and Rutland. The Black Hackle works well mid-season on all the Midland reservoirs, while the Yellow Olive is a good back-end pattern when the water has a tinge of colour. On all these three versions, I have used the new UTC wires from America. I find them tough, fine and a nice change from the usual gold, silver or pearl ribs. The chartreuse colour really glows.

Claret-hackled Damsel
Hook:	Wet Fly Supreme 10-12.
Silk:	Olive UTC 70 denier.
Tail:	Dark olive marabou (sparse).
Rib:	Wine UTC wire (small).
Body:	Oliver seal fur, claret at head.
Hackle:	Three turns claret hen.
Eyes:	Jungle cock (optional).

Black-hackled Damsel
Hook:	Wet Fly Supreme 10-12.
Silk:	Olive UTC 70 denier.
Tail:	Dark olive marabou (sparse).
Rib:	Chartreuse UTC wire (small).
Body:	Olive seal fur, lime green at head.
Hackle:	Three turns black hen.

Light Olive Damsel
Hook:	Yellow olive marabou (sparse).
Silk:	Olive UTC 70 denier.
Tail:	Dark olive marabou (sparse).
Rib:	Red UTC wire (small).
Body:	Yellow olive marabou, red seal fur at head
Hackle:	3 turns light olive hen.