Dragons that Fly!

Here is a photo of a dragonfly (Green Darner) that has just been fitted with a tiny radio transmitter by Princeton University professor, Martin Wikelski (left). The scientist was tracking their migratory patterns in a 2005 study funded by National Geographic. Apparently they only fly during the daytime, in a generally southward direction, pausing sometimes for several days when conditions are to their liking. Two consecutive nights of decreasing temperatures will get them moving again.

One day on the Pinware River in Labrador, my brother, Steve, shot some video footage of a large dragonfly circling my head, picking off the blackflies that swarmed there. I joked about wishing it was tethered to my hat, trained to attack insect pests on command. Apparently, using Wikelski's technique, such a thing is possible. He uses Krazy Glue to attach the miniature radio transmitters - so, why not a length of monofilament?

I actually did have a dragonfly on a tether once. It happened like this. I was fishing alone in my canoe on a stretch of the Mersey River known locally as the Kedgie River. This is the section that flows from Kejimkujik National Park to Rossignol Lake. Trout were rising under overhanging trees near the riverbank and I made a beautiful cast with a small dry fly. It doesn't happen often, but this was a perfect presentation. As the line straightened out and the fly began to float down through the air towards the surface of the water, I anticipated a nice Brook Trout coming up to slurp it down.

Instead, something unexpected happened. The fly instantly took a different direction and came crashing down with a splash several feet short of the intended target. Annoyed and perplexed, I stripped in line to cast once more, when to my complete amazement, in slow motion, the fly and leader levitated off the water and up into the air. I kept stripping line and soon I had a clear view of what was going on - a large dragonfly had a death grip on my #14 Adams and was trying to make off with it. He circled the canoe, then dropped it and flew off. The truth - so help me, God!