I know that the dragonfly is a very territorial insect, but this was a rare chance to capture one actually devouring an intruder.

You can just make out the poor Blue Damsel partly hidden by the light brown reed in the foreground being cleaned up, so to speak.

If this was not unusual enough the other day, another client was fishing a dual rig with a dry hopper pattern on top and a small bead head nymph under when, as he cast up stream about 30 feet or so, a ‘big’ dragonfly attacked the hopper in flight, caught it and flew back past us carrying both about four to five feet off the water.

It was only the eventual drag of the fly line going downstream that pulled it clear of the dragonfly’s clutches.

I had just about focused with the digital when it let go.

I was wondering if any other fly fishers have seen such an action by a dragonfly?

I know of swallows, etc. picking up or swooping on dries, but never an insect do this.