One thing not lacking in the fly tying world these days is variation. Being guilty to this party, there always seems to be one or another variation of a certain pattern that comes across that neon boulevard in my mind.
For some reason the Olive Damsel Marabou came to mind the other day. This is a pattern that was put to good use on Blue River for trout five or six years ago. In the last several years, however, the olive damsel has not been employed and I can't explain why.
In the past the olive damsel has produced trout to hand - perhaps not as well as some other nymph patterns but still served as a good pattern.
When it comes to this particular pattern I tie several variations and can't really say if one works better than the other.
At the tying desk last night I begin to wonder why the olive damsel wouldn't work for carp. As far as I know they could certainty attract the interest of the golden ghost especially if we tie them in slightly larger sizes than we would for trout.
Then, there's that variation mentioned earlier. What if rubber legs were incorporated with this pattern. That most certainly seems like something that would attract the grand and golden ones.
Better get to the vise and start experimenting because carp season is just ahead.
