I can't find a Dragonfly topwater lure!

[garcialuis723]

Ok guys I need help! I went fishing and all bass were hitting were dragonflys. I've looked everywhere trying to find a badass Dragonfly topwater lure and can't seem to find one so I decided in making one. How would you guys make one? 

[J Francho]

 

[smalljaw67]

River2Sea makes one.    http://www.river2seausa.com/specialties/502-dragonfly-popper.html

 

It is a light and you can't cast it in the wind but when it is calm it is deadly. It has a bib like a jitterbug only it is plastic but it moves the bait just enough for it to look real on the water surface.

[Munkin]

Shimano makes a lure called the living cicada that should work. 

 

Allen 

[Angry John]

If you like bugs then duo makes a good bug and megabass has one also.  I have the duo version and like it.  The colors are good on the duo very natural in most cases.

[wdp]

These look nice, but not cheap. Capt Ken makes some nice looking lures, just a little pricey. He catches some big fish on em tho. 

 

http://www.noflyrodneeded.com/dragonflies.html

 

 

[heavyduty]

Was scrolling through topics, saw your question, and remembered seeing this on TW.

 

[the reel ess]

On 10/21/2017 at 2:03 PM, wdp said:

These look nice, but not cheap. Capt Ken makes some nice looking lures, just a little pricey. He catches some big fish on em tho. 

 

http://www.noflyrodneeded.com/dragonflies.html

 

 

More than a little pricey. LOL

[J Francho]

Capt. Ken invented the Banjo Minnow.

[Comfortably Numb]

Guy on Facebook makes these. They float a #1 hook

 

 

[Ratherbfishing]

The last time the bass on my favorite lake were "busting" on dragonflies, if we were able to reach the boil with a crawdad soft plastic, most of the time the bass would hit it.  There was a relatively small window of time, though.

[J Francho]

Ragetail Space Monkeys are a great bait when the Damsels are mating.  Rig weedless on a 4/0 EWG hook, and burn it across the surface.  Works all day long.

[Bo Merckle]

I make a Dragonfly lure.  They're lightweight, you're better off using a spinning setup, but they definitely work. 

[Dangerfield]

On 10/19/2017 at 3:48 PM, smalljaw67 said:

River2Sea makes one.    http://www.river2seausa.com/specialties/502-dragonfly-popper.html

 

It is a light and you can't cast it in the wind but when it is calm it is deadly. It has a bib like a jitterbug only it is plastic but it moves the bait just enough for it to look real on the water surface.

Those are SUPER fragile, had the wings break off on a blow up

[Paul Roberts]

I've been collecting video of bass hunting dragonflies -both larvae and adult dragons- as I have some ponds where bass spend considerable time actively hunting them. I've got some super-cool shots of bass blowing up on dragonflies.

 

Problem is, it's the action of the dragons that incite the blow-ups. Dead dragonflies lying on the surface appear to be of little interest. And catching those adult dragons is not easy bc they are so fast and maneuverable. The mature bass target the egg-layers of certain species, and have to position themselves carefully for the strike. It's a timing thing, and they frequently miss. Not all that sure why the heck they bother. But they do. Sometimes a good number of adult bass are cruising the shallows for such opportunities.

 

I have yet to fish for them, but have has ideas rolling around in my head as to the best way to mimic those dragons. If I ever actually fish for them, and come up with something, I'll be sure to share it. I like J Francho's idea, and Ratherb's tactic, above.

[WRB]

When I was a young teen would harvest Darner nymphs under rocks and drift wood to sell as bait. Darner nymph is the dragon fly before it hatches and all fresh water game fish eat them.

The Ned rig closely replicates a Darner nymph.

Tom

[OCdockskipper]

On 2/18/2018 at 7:58 PM, heavyduty said:

Was scrolling through topics, saw your question, and remembered seeing this on TW.

 

I ordered a pair of those last winter & by the time summer rolled around & the conditions warranted using them, they were useless.  The plastic on the back split over time, even though they were stored properly, and the rubber strands were falling out.

 

As @Paul Roberts wrote, it is the action of the dragonflies that incite the bass.  Use a 5" Senko, weightless, in a color that matches your areas dragonflies, and skip each cast even if it isn't required to reach your target.  The Senko bouncing across the surface mimics the egglayers dipping into the water & many of your strikes will come as the lure is still skipping or right as it stops.

[heavyduty]

2 hours ago, OCdockskipper said:

I ordered a pair of those last winter & by the time summer rolled around & the conditions warranted using them, they were useless.  The plastic on the back split over time, even though they were stored properly, and the rubber strands were falling out.

 

As @Paul Roberts wrote, it is the action of the dragonflies that incite the bass.  Use a 5" Senko, weightless, in a color that matches your areas dragonflies, and skip each cast even if it isn't required to reach your target.  The Senko bouncing across the surface mimics the egglayers dipping into the water & many of your strikes will come as the lure is still skipping or right as it stops.

Good to know. Looks easy enough to make your own with a TRD, needle, and skirt strands.

[Paul Roberts]

22 hours ago, OCdockskipper said:

I ordered a pair of those last winter & by the time summer rolled around & the conditions warranted using them, they were useless.  The plastic on the back split over time, even though they were stored properly, and the rubber strands were falling out.

 

As @Paul Roberts wrote, it is the action of the dragonflies that incite the bass.  Use a 5" Senko, weightless, in a color that matches your areas dragonflies, and skip each cast even if it isn't required to reach your target.  The Senko bouncing across the surface mimics the egglayers dipping into the water & many of your strikes will come as the lure is still skipping or right as it stops.

Skipping is a good idea. I'd probably use a more buoyant stickworm than the Senko. The slowest sinking stickworm I've used is (was?) the Wave Tiki-Stick.

[J Francho]

On 11/24/2018 at 11:40 AM, Paul Roberts said:

I have yet to fish for them, but have has ideas rolling around in my head as to the best way to mimic those dragons. If I ever actually fish for them, and come up with something, I'll be sure to share it. I like J Francho's idea, and Ratherb's tactic, above.

I discovered this tactic fishing North Ponds.  I even turned the dog catcher (that giant dude named Link, if you recall) on to them and he reported success as well.  I think any toad would work, but I feel like the Space Monkey is a more appropriate size.

[Paul Roberts]

22 hours ago, J Francho said:

I discovered this tactic fishing North Ponds.  I even turned the dog catcher (that giant dude named Link, if you recall) on to them and he reported success as well.  I think any toad would work, but I feel like the Space Monkey is a more appropriate size.

I never met Link. I didn't fish NP very often, only some mornings before work. It wasn't entirely convenient. It actually made me late a couple times (notice how I blame the pond), and Pat warned me not to be late again. The very next day, I kept checking my watch. It was in my pocket bc the band had broken, and I read 11:30 when it was actually 12:30. When I saw my error I rushed in to B.E.. Not sure if you remember, but when Pat was PO'd, it created an aura around him that emanated out into the parking lot. I can still see his face, when he was "not happy". He's a good man. We were friends from day one. But he almost fired me that day. That may actually have been the last day I fished NP. ?

[J Francho]

36 minutes ago, Paul Roberts said:

Not sure if you remember, but when Pat was PO'd, it created an aura around him that emanated out into the parking lot.

Lol, I'm aware.  I haven't fished there in a while.  Used to go almost every day when I was at Xerox.  I once caught a six pounder there, and while reeling it in, a larger fish attacked my hooked fish.  There's a lot of harvest in those ponds, so I'm not sure what is in there now.  During the spawn, you can literally see the fish on beds as you walk the shoreline.  It's one of the more impressive scenes of spawners - a bed about every 4-6 feet.  There's also a couple snappers approaching three feet in diameter in there.

[Paul Roberts]

On 11/29/2018 at 8:14 AM, J Francho said:

Lol, I'm aware.  I haven't fished there in a while.  Used to go almost every day when I was at Xerox.  I once caught a six pounder there, and while reeling it in, a larger fish attacked my hooked fish.  There's a lot of harvest in those ponds, so I'm not sure what is in there now.  During the spawn, you can literally see the fish on beds as you walk the shoreline.  It's one of the more impressive scenes of spawners - a bed about every 4-6 feet.  There's also a couple snappers approaching three feet in diameter in there.

Wow. I was never terribly impressed by the place. Guess I should have spent more time there.