Dry FliesJeffrey Dauber
The Jeffrey Dauber is an incredibly realistic wasp and bee imitation that incorporates foam construction with strategic appendages for a pattern that looks like it just flew off a windowsill. This innovative design features a bright yellow foam butt with black foam overlay creating the distinctive banded pattern of a yellow jacket, rubber legs for lifelike movement, a neatly dubbed thorax, and a macrame yarn wing that provides both silhouette and visibility. The result is a pattern that triggers aggressive strikes from trout accustomed to feeding on stinging insects.
Summer, Fall
Intermediate
Trout
Dec 2025
Overview
This Charlie Craven pattern from Charlie's Fly Box showcases an innovative approach to terrestrial imitations that targets fish feeding on bees, wasps, and yellow jackets. The Jeffrey Dauber uses a foam construction that ensures the fly rides properly in the surface film while remaining virtually unsinkable. The tippet connector between the butt and body sections creates a unique segmented appearance that perfectly mimics the narrow waist of hymenopteran insects. The combination of the bright yellow butt and black foam bands creates the instantly recognizable coloration of a wasp or bee.
Materials
Hook: Tiemco 2487, #14-16
Thread: Veevus 14/0, black
Butt: McFlylon (yellow) and Thin Fly Foam 3mm (black)
Connector: 0X Tippet
Legs: Sexi-Legs, barred amber small
Body: Thin Fly Foam 3mm, black
Thorax: Superfine Dubbing, black
Wing: Polypropylene Macrame Yarn, gold rust grey black
Behavior & Presentation
Natural Behavior: Wasps and bees hunt low over water or attempt to drink, crash-landing on the surface where they struggle frantically with buzzing wings, unable to achieve takeoff. Their substantial body mass and erratic thrashing create high-value feeding opportunities.
Where Trout Eat It: Fish intercept at the surface in feeding lanes and along undercut banks where struggling adults drift.
How to Fish It: Cast near grassy banks and structure with a splashy presentation to mimic a struggling insect, then dead drift through slower runs.
Best Water: Target undercut banks, pools, and foam lines where terrestrials accumulate.
Strike Type: Expect aggressive surface strikes with visible takes as fish capitalize on high-value prey.
Fishing Strategy
Rigging Suggestions: Fish on a 9-foot leader tapering to 4X-5X tippet. The foam construction provides excellent buoyancy for dry-dropper rigs if desired.
Seasonal Timing: and fall when terrestrial insects are most active. Wasps and bees are particularly prevalent around water sources from July through October.
Pro Tips: The foam construction ensures the fly floats indefinitely, even after multiple fish or extended fishing sessions.
Entomology
Wasps fly low over water while hunting or drinking and occasionally crash-land on the surface, where they buzz frantically while attempting to take off. Their struggling movements and substantial body mass make them high-value targets that draw aggressive strikes from territorial fish.
- Order
- Hymenoptera
- Family
- Vespidae
- Common Name
- Wasp
- Organism Type
- terrestrial
- Life Stage
- adult