Beaverpelt

Dragonflies are stillwater insects, are very large, and are taken often by trout. Only the nymph stage is important. They have two- and three-year life cycles, so they are available in small sizes even after the mature insects have emerged into adults. Climber dragonfly nymphs live in rooted vegetation in lakes and ponds. They clamber around on the stalks and leaves, stalking any prey they can capture and eat. They are large enough that small fish are sometimes included in their voracious diet. When dislodged from their grip on vegetation, they are able to swim with a fast, jet-like motion, in bursts of four to six inches. They migrate to shore for emergence, but deep, usually along the bottom, rather than higher in the water like the related damselfly nymphs. There is no hatch as such; the nymphs crawl out of the water, usually at dusk or after dark, and the adult emerges from the nymphal shuck on shore. Dragonflies generally hatch in the warm days of early to mid-summer: late May through July and early August. Adults are agile flyers, and predaceous, foraging on mosquitoes and other insects that they capture in the air. They are rarely taken by trout, and even more rarely is an imitation worthwhile. Carry a suggestive nymph dressing such as the following Beaverpelt, and you'll solve most dragonfly situations.