Flies using dust mop material have been around for many years now. Mop flies, as they are known, are embraced by some and scorned by others. The argument about them still rages, but the one thing that cannot be disputed is that the flies tied using mop material catch fish, a lot of fish! I think part of the argument against these flies is that quite often the fly tier merely lashes the mop to a hook and calls it done, maybe if they are feeling ambitious they will add some dubbing as a head or perhaps a bead. In cold water streams a mop fly, when tied in a natural color such as tan or light olive, actually imitates a cranefly larva quite well. Maybe that is why they are so effective. I can’t even begin to explain the effectiveness of the blue, yellow, orange and chartreuse color schemes! Whether you love them or hate them, it appears mop flies are here to stay!

The Mop Dragon is highly effective on bluegills of all sizes!

The material does have some very positive attributes. When wet it moves seductively in the water. The individual fibers seem to come alive. The mop can also be lashed to the hook shank as an extended body. Unfortunately, very few aquatic insects have such a large abdomen so standard size mop is not all that useful for realistically imitating most aquatic insects, except perhaps the crane fly larva we mentioned earlier. Fortunately for the warm water angler and the still water trout angler, there is one aquatic insect large enough to be imitated with a body made of mop fiber material. That insect is the larva of the dragonfly! Dragonflies have a rather sizeable, bulbous abdomen, a perfect candidate for a fly tied with mop fiber material.

The dragonfly nymphs in this pond are very dark almost black in color.

A dragonfly larva typically ranges in color from a mottled tan, olive or brown. However, late this summer I came across a lake that had emerging dragonfly larva moving about that were almost black. I did not have any material on hand that would match the color of this insect, as most of the Mop Dragons I have tied were olives and browns. Then I remembered a dashboard mop my wife recently purchased for her car. I recalled it having mottled grey/black mops on it. Fortunately for me, it was still in the garage so I quickly “borrowed” a few of the mop fibers (I doubt she'll notice it). The color of the mop fibers when wet was almost a perfect match for this these dark nymphs. I will be seeking out one of these grey/black dust mops for myself to add to my growing collection.

Looks like a manufacturing defect to me!

Creating the fly was pretty straightforward. To ensure the fly does not roll over I lash the bead chain to the underside of the hook. That will ensure the fly maintains the proper orientation in the water when retrieved. If you want, you can build the fly so it will ride hook point up, to reduce snags. To accomplish this I lash the bead chain eyes to the top of the hook and add a small keel made of a thick piece of lead wire which is also lashed to the top of the hook. This will keep the hook riding point up which is helpful if your fishing water with a lot of weeds or other debris. Of course, you will have to tie the fly "upside down" to ensure the wingcase ends up on the right side! The “mop” was lashed to the hook shank in two places to ensure it won’t slip or rotate around the hook. Dubbing is used for the thorax, and an emu feather created the legs. For the wing case/emerging wing bud, I used medallion sheeting. Coating the area around the eyes with a little UV curing epoxy will create a bomb proof fly that will stand up to a lot of fish.

This Mop Dragon was tied so it will ride hook point up when retrieved.

As far as fishing the pattern goes, I like a slow steady hand twist retrieve. I will cast the fly in and around weed beds and over hard bottoms with plenty of rock or small stones. The pattern sinks very slowly because of the mop material and will get a lot of hits on the drop so watch where your leader enters the water for any movement. Takes on the drop are usually pretty easy to detect with this fly. Fish will often pick up the fly and run off with it. I believe the soft mop material encourages this behavior. However, this may cause some frustration if smaller fish are in the area. I have found that the smallest of bluegills will smash this fly. Tied on the size eight hook I recommend, it is a bit of a mouthful for all but the largest panfish. Little guys will grab it by the extended body and swim off with it. You will know this is happening if you get a lot takes and no hookups. If you do manage to hook a small one the hook is often embedded on the outside of the fish's mouth!

The extended body on the this fly creates a mouthful for most panfish.  Expect a lot of hits that don't result in hookups.  These are usually smaller fish determined to eat the fly, but simply cant fit the entire thing in their tiny mouths… — The extended body on the this fly creates a mouthful for most panfish. Expect a lot of hits that don't result in hookups. These are usually smaller fish determined to eat the fly, but simply cant fit the entire thing in their tiny mouths!.

Mop Dragon

Pattern Recipe:

Hook: TMC 2302 size 8
Thread: Brown Uni 6/0
Eyes: Large black bead chain lashed to underside of the hook
Body: Tan mop fiber tinted with permanent markers to match the natural
Thorax: Dark olive SLF squirell dubbing
Legs: Brown emu feather
Wingcase/emerging wing bud: Mottled brown/black medallion sheeting

Mop Dragon (Dark Phase)

Pattern Recipe:

Hook: TMC 2302 size 8
Thread: Black Uni 6/0
Eyes: Large black bead chain lashed to underside of the hook
Body: Mottled grey/black mop fiber
Thorax: Mix of grey and black SLF squirrel dubbing to match mop material
Legs: Black emu feather
Wingcase/emerging wing bud: Mottled grey/black medallion sheeting

Note: I also have a floating version of this fly designed to be fished on a sinking fly line or leader. I will talk about the fly and the technique for fishing it in a future post.