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Using a bodkin tip preheated over a lighter flame for two seconds, touch the desired bending point, and pull the bristles forward.

The pincers are trimmed to length, and then small smooth-faced (flat-jaw) pliers are used to flatten the tips.

The tips are then split down the center with fine-tipped scissors and shaped with the tip of a heated bodkin.

The piece of previously-colored thin foam strip is tied on as pictured below to start forming a head.



Next step is to tie on the eyes, one at a time, onto the top of the hook directly behind the foam.

The foam is pulled back over the top, between the eyes, and secured with thread.

Continue binding the foam strip down, far enough to fit three sets of legs underneath.
Three brush bristles are tied underneath the hook to create three pairs of legs.

The thread is cut and a coating of tinted varnish is thinly painted over the foam and threads wraps, and then set aside to dry.

Finally, it’s time to start tying the dragonfly’s abdomen.  A piece of copper wire is tightly secured in the vise.

This fly has a very strong wire, 22 gauge copper, which is then covered with thread wraps.

I wanted a reddish-orange tail to closely match the orange grizzly hackle that will soon cover the top of the abdomen.  These feather fibers are tied onto the end of the copper wire.

The small red feathers at the base of a Golden Pheasant tail suited this purpose nicely, being exceptionally durable and pleasingly colorful.

The next step is tying the tip of the orange grizzly hackle with the concave side facing up, ending as close to the end of the wire as possible.

The tip of the blue and green parrot feather is then tied on top of the orange feather, with the colorful side facing down.

The foam abdomen is placed under the wire with the cut side facing up.  The wire should fit inside the foam due to being hollowed out earlier with a hot bodkin.  The very tip maybe tricky, but the feather will hide the wire if it doesn’t completely submerge into the foam.

Next step is to fold the feathers forward over the top of the abdomen, and wrap three tight turns of thread to create a segmentation point.  While holding the spool of thread out to the side of the fly, the foam is pulled downward while the feathers are pulled upward.  This exposes the wire core and allows for taking the thread back onto the wire and wrapping forward to the next desired segmentation point.

Continue this process, moving the thread forward while keeping it only visible at segmentation points.  (Sometimes it helps to use a marker and make pre-designated segmenting points by coloring lines onto the thread on the wire core.)

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