Fly Fishing on the Dodder

thefisherbuy · 09-05-2017 10:11pm

Strike immediately. Sometimes when its a small par they come out of the water. The trout spits out the fly in a fraction of a second so you have to be very quick

bigjohn17 · 09-05-2017 10:17pm

thefisherbuy wrote: »

Strike immediately. Sometimes when its a small par they come out of the water. The trout spits out the fly in a fraction of a second so you have to be very quick

I was striking immediately every time. Was I doing something wrong or is it normal to miss that many?

thefisherbuy · 09-05-2017 10:39pm

Very normal.. Missed some very nice fish from the river last day.. all decent fish. id say I missed about 10 very nice wild trout. It just happens sometimes you'll hook every time.

ardinn · 09-05-2017 10:40pm

yes it is in the beginning - but your reactions will get better - also angles make a difference, trout face upstream, so depending on where you are you need to strike at the correct time and try not strike head on - its not a major issue but definately helps!

Auldloon · 10-05-2017 10:38pm

bigjohn17 wrote: »

How long should I wait to set the hook when dry fly fishing? Had at least 20 takes today, only caught one fish, 2 got off the hook.

Also how do I set the hook properly without yanking the fish out of the water?

Like most things there's not a simple answer. If they are actually taking the fly then you want to let them turn back down before you strike. If they are tiny then this will be very quick, if bigger it won't be as quick.
Strike is a bad description of what you need to do. It's more a lift of the rod and a tightening of the line, think tighten into the fish rather than strike.
You will often get tiny parr and the like slashing at the fly, they're not really taking it. If that's the case you're better off leaving them and moving on to another bit of water as you don't want to be targeting parr.

bigjohn17 · 11-05-2017 9:06pm

Saw a mayfly drift past me today on the river, brownish red in colour.

katy39 · 14-05-2017 12:13am

bigjohn17 wrote: »

How long should I wait to set the hook when dry fly fishing? Had at least 20 takes today, only caught one fish, 2 got off the hook.

Also how do I set the hook properly without yanking the fish out of the water?

Can I ask what fly and size you were using ?

jack01986 · 15-05-2017 10:46pm

Do the stocked trout have any fins clipped or any features to differentiate them from the wild ones?

bigjohn17 · 15-05-2017 11:33pm

jack01986 wrote: »

Do the stocked trout have any fins clipped or any features to differentiate them from the wild ones?

As far as I can tell, wild trout usually have much more vibrant colours. Golden bellys and red spots.

Also apparently stockies can have rounded/torn tail fins from the hatchery. A wild trout should have a sharp well defined tail fin.

katy39 wrote: »

Can I ask what fly and size you were using ?

Size 16 black gnat

Captain Snow · 16-05-2017 8:11am

Had over 40 or more fish yesterday from 4pm to about 11pm on a size 18 Dry Yellow Midge from Rathfarnam Waterfall to the Dart Bridge below Ballsbridge. My biggest fish was over half pound. Most fish were small about 6 to 8 inchs. The River is in Top condition. All fish were wild. Few salmon par aswell.

All Fish were C & R

bigjohn17 · 16-05-2017 9:09am

Captain Snow wrote: »

Had over 40 or more fish yesterday from 4pm to about 11pm on a size 18 Dry Yellow Midge from Rathfarnam Waterfall to the Dart Bridge below Ballsbridge. My biggest fish was over half pound. Most fish were small about 6 to 8 inchs. The River is in Top condition. All fish were wild. Few salmon par aswell.

How long were you out?

Captain Snow · 16-05-2017 11:12am

bigjohn17 wrote: »

How long were you out?

7 hours approx

bigjohn17 · 18-07-2017 12:04am

How do you catch the big fish on the fly?

Was catching small fish for hours today then someone comes up with a worm and catches the biggest fish that I've ever seen on the Dodder within 60 seconds of his first cast.

Makes me wonder why I bother with the fly sometimes.

ardinn · 18-07-2017 12:30am

bigjohn17 wrote: »

How do you catch the big fish on the fly?

Was catching small fish for hours today then someone comes up with a worm and catches the biggest fish that I've ever seen on the Dodder within 60 seconds of his first cast.

Makes me wonder why I bother with the fly sometimes.

Most of catching the big fish is reading the water. The best lies hold the biggest and best trout. The better the lie, the bigger the fish sitting in it as they will run the smaller fish out.

Learn to read the bottom from the top and your fish size will improve!

thefisherbuy · 18-07-2017 12:35am

The fly is very special I think compared to other methods..

You need to be their late when sedges are our the big trout go mad for them but late is key also.. try and find somewhere that's deep but has a decent current with it.. you have to recon different areas late and see if you see decent fish rising

bigjohn17 · 18-07-2017 12:44am

thefisherbuy wrote: »

The fly is very special I think compared to other methods..

You need to be their late when sedges are our the big trout go mad for them but late is key also.. try and find somewhere that's deep but has a decent current with it.. you have to recon different areas late and see if you see decent fish rising

How late? Was out til 11pm today that's pretty much the latest I can do.

bigjohn17 · 18-07-2017 12:46am

ardinn wrote: »

Most of catching the big fish is reading the water. The best lies hold the biggest and best trout. The better the lie, the bigger the fish sitting in it as they will run the smaller fish out.

Learn to read the bottom from the top and your fish size will improve!

What kind of flies will they take?

ardinn · 18-07-2017 12:51am

bigjohn17 wrote: »

What kind of flies will they take?

Depends on whats about - match the hatch, but sedges are the pick at the moment.

If dries are flummoxing you, learn to wet and nymph (if you dont know already) makes a nice change if the dries are being very picky

fishfoodie · 18-07-2017 12:52am

Captain Snow wrote: »

Had over 40 or more fish yesterday from 4pm to about 11pm on a size 18 Dry Yellow Midge from Rathfarnam Waterfall to the Dart Bridge below Ballsbridge. My biggest fish was over half pound. Most fish were small about 6 to 8 inchs. The River is in Top condition. All fish were wild. Few salmon par aswell.

All Fish were C & R

As someone who kayaked in that section of the Dodder, in the late 80s; & after a dousing in it, felt like I needed a bath in dettol; it's great to hear that the river is in rude health again !

jack01986 · 18-07-2017 9:02am

The bigger weir pools on the Dodder hold some better fish. My best trout have been from them around this time of year on the sedge.

bigjohn17 · 18-07-2017 9:44am

jack01986 wrote: »

The bigger weir pools on the Dodder hold some better fish. My best trout have been from them around this time of year on the sedge.

What conditions and time of day are best?

ardinn · 18-07-2017 10:53am

bigjohn17 wrote: »

What conditions and time of day are best?

Early and late - Watch for the hatches.

At the moment, the 90mins before dark and into darkness are best, along with dawn and the 1st hr into light. But watch the activity on your own stretch of water to be sure.

Weather plays a massive part, hot muggy weather can give rise to hatches of the anglers curse and you might as well go home or risk breaking your rod over someone.

After a drop of rain will be perfect after that hot spell. Expected tonight so tomorrow will be a massive fishing day for many!

There is no quick fix - gather all the info you can and still you will be learning this for the rest of your life. It's frustrating in the beginning, the trick I think is to simply take your time. Learn something new, practice it and then learn something else.

Learn to tie flies - it will speed up your entomology drastically.

Do the boring bits, on bad weather days get on the forums and read books and search patterns. Learn why patterns work.

Heres an article on fishing after floods, its new zealand based but still applies to all our rivers,

LIES

I'll post another on trout lies in normal water later.

jack01986 · 18-07-2017 10:58am

Into the evening worked best for me. I find this really nice weather makes it tricky enough in during the day so would keep most of my fishing to the evenings. What sort of flies have you been using? My best trout from the dodder was caught around 10pm on one of these. I use various colours for the wing and the body.

bigjohn17 · 18-07-2017 11:15am

ardinn wrote: »

Early and late - Watch for the hatches.

At the moment, the 90mins before dark and into darkness are best, along with dawn and the 1st hr into light. But watch the activity on your own stretch of water to be sure.

Weather plays a massive part, hot muggy weather can give rise to hatches of the anglers curse and you might as well go home or risk breaking your rod over someone.

After a drop of rain will be perfect after that hot spell. Expected tonight so tomorrow will be a massive fishing day for many!

There is no quick fix - gather all the info you can and still you will be learning this for the rest of your life. It's frustrating in the beginning, the trick I think is to simply take your time. Learn something new, practice it and then learn something else.

Learn to tie flies - it will speed up your entomology drastically.

Do the boring bits, on bad weather days get on the forums and read books and search patterns. Learn why patterns work.

Heres an article on fishing after floods, its new zealand based but still applies to all our rivers,

LIES

I'll post another on trout lies in normal water later.

"Anglers Curse" meaning Caenis?

I was out last night and these were hatching and the fish were rising every second and I was catching regularly (small ones). Why is this a bad thing?

bigjohn17 · 18-07-2017 11:17am

jack01986 wrote: »

Into the evening worked best for me. I find this really nice weather makes it tricky enough in during the day so would keep most of my fishing to the evenings. What sort of flies have you been using? My best trout from the dodder was caught around 10pm on one of these. I use various colours for the wing and the body.

Have been using small size 16/18 dries - Griffiths gnat, CDC Dun, Grey Duster. These are the only patterns I really use as I can tie them myself easily and I've found they work and float well.

Might have to try tying that one you mentioned (elk hair caddis?)

jack01986 · 18-07-2017 11:23am

bigjohn17 wrote: »

Have been using small size 16/18 dries - Griffiths gnat, CDC Dun, Grey Duster. These are the only patterns I really use as I can tie them myself easily and I've found they work and float well.

Might have to try tying that one you mentioned (elk hair caddis?)

Yep its an Elk Hair Caddis. Keep at it there are some nice fish in there I haven't had any 'big' fish from it this year but have had some nice ones around 1lb.

bigjohn17 · 18-07-2017 11:29am

jack01986 wrote: »

Yep its an Elk Hair Caddis. Keep at it there are some nice fish in there I haven't had any 'big' fish from it this year but have had some nice ones around 1lb.

1lb would be huge for me. Biggest I've caught on the Dodder is about 6/7 inches.

ardinn · 18-07-2017 12:39pm

bigjohn17 wrote: »

"Anglers Curse" meaning Caenis?

I was out last night and these were hatching and the fish were rising every second and I was catching regularly (small ones). Why is this a bad thing?

Thats what they are called, sometimes they are so small its hard to match them - size 20 flies needed etc. Anytime I come across them I switch to wets - aint nobody got time for that

Evac101 · 25-07-2017 12:47pm

I was one of the stewards on the Dodder a couple of weeks ago when the Leinster qualifiers were run. On the day, in bright afternoon sunshine, 6-7 fish of 35cm or more were caught, up to 50cm in size which, even after 2 years of getting Glen's photos on facebook, weirded me out. While the larger fish tend to be in the lower reaches of the Dodder, it's always worth exploring the less frequented areas (inaccessible except via wading, upper reaches, etc) as you'll find plenty of willing fish. Case in point, last night a 36cm trout on a size 18 nymph on a section that's about 10-15m long but can only be reached by wading. Caught nothing in the more visited areas both above and below that point, a total of 7 from that space.

jack01986 · 25-07-2017 1:25pm

Is there a pic of the 50cm trout?

Evac101 · 25-07-2017 1:37pm

There was - Terry Walsh caught it (and got a Grey's Switch rod as a prize at the end of the day for largest fish), but I've checked the Dodder Anglers facebook group and there's no photo's there of it. I did see a photo of it on the day, and a photo of the 38.5cm one he had caught on the cast immediately before that >.<

jack01986 · 25-07-2017 1:40pm

Some good fishing, maybe they'll turn up at some point. I wonder what section he was fishing...

Evac101 · 25-07-2017 1:50pm

Like I said, the less travelled areas of the Dodder still hold good, eager, fish

Copal · 23-09-2018 3:26pm

so lads did yous have much luck on the river this year? i had excellent fishing in the early half of the season and then of course it got hard as the drought came in. still catching the odd trout so im happy enough

jack01986 · 24-09-2018 8:58am

Had a reasonable start earlier in the year and then pretty much left it alone during the drought. Haven't fished it much at all in the back end of the season.

delmonte4 · 03-09-2019 2:33pm

Doc Farrell wrote: »

hoping to fish around sunset tomorrow in a weir about 400 yards downstream of the dropping well, which me and coolwings helped rebuild back in may i think.

then off to lough ouler near glendalough on sunday to say hello to a great little lake at the top of a mountain. if it's cloudy i'll stay near the dodder.

I’m a beginner and live near bohernabreeba so while looking for info on the reservoirs and dodder I came across your post. I know it’s a few years ago now but did you have any luck up at Lough Ouler and what kind of flies/tactics would you use? I do a bit of hiking and the odd bit of camping up that way and always wondered....

Evac101 · 03-09-2019 2:37pm

Ouler is a bit of a hike, one of those, 35 up, 20 minutes down sort of deals. It's very exposed to the weather which can be good or bad and the fish (in my experience) are quite small. This isn't to say that it's not fun, just that you're not going to see any trophy trout out of there.

Upper Lough Bray seems to hold a smaller population of trout, but larger in size, with the bigger fish getting up to 25-30cm but slim bodies and big mouths

delmonte4 · 03-09-2019 3:15pm

Evac101 wrote: »

Ouler is a bit of a hike, one of those, 35 up, 20 minutes down sort of deals. It's very exposed to the weather which can be good or bad and the fish (in my experience) are quite small. This isn't to say that it's not fun, just that you're not going to see any trophy trout out of there.

Upper Lough Bray seems to hold a smaller population of trout, but larger in size, with the bigger fish getting up to 25-30cm but slim bodies and big mouths

I might find myself up there anyway but maybe it’s a bit late in the season this year. I’m going to try Bohernabreena later this week. Any pointers on what flies or nymphs to use etc?

Evac101 · 03-09-2019 3:42pm

Any of the old style lough flies (Bibios, Kate McClaren, etc) work, as do dries most evenings. If you're not seeing much in surface activity I'd try small bait fish imitators like Butchers or Alexandria's.

dodderangler · 03-09-2019 3:50pm

Evac101 wrote: »

Any of the old style lough flies (Bibios, Kate McClaren, etc) work, as do dries most evenings. If you're not seeing much in surface activity I'd try small bait fish imitators like Butchers or Alexandria's.

Minky or a small fritz aswell

delmonte4 · 03-09-2019 8:54pm

Thanks for the advice. Will let you know how I get on

delmonte4 · 06-09-2019 9:37pm

I went up to Bohernabreena this afternoon after going into southside and getting a permit. After about 5 casts I heard a splash and I lifted into a lovely little brownie that took a single heather fly I was fishing on the surface. After returning him , roughly three hours passed and I switched to a sinking line. Had no more luck until about an hour before dusk. I was fishing an Alexandra on the point and a hares ear on the dropper. Was about to give up when I felt that magic gravelly feeling of a much more substantial fish connecting. There was much more playing involved but eventually I got a roughly 2 pound rainbow onto the stoney bank I was fishing off. All in all I’m delighted with my first two fish on the fly. Thanks for the advice lads!

Captain Snow · 01-10-2019 8:29pm

Anyone any luck the last month?

Captain Snow · 07-11-2019 5:11pm

http://www.kenwhelan.info/news/

River Restoration Projects – Rivers Bandon and Dodder
I’m continuing to advise on river rehabilitation and connectivity projects connected with flood relief schemes on the rivers Bandon (Cork) and Dodder (Dublin). Recently I advised on the installation of a number of fish passes on tributaries of the River Bandon.

Would love to see these installed on every water fall along the Dodder.

Could you imagine the runs of sea trout and salmon right up towards Firhouse and beyond.

jack01986 · 07-11-2019 5:34pm

Would love to see them installed, I recall speaking to someone in the Inland Fisheries in 2016 and they would be considering them for the Dodder once the flood defence works have been completed. It would be some resource to have if they can back in any numbers.

Captain Snow · 07-11-2019 5:52pm

jack01986 wrote: »

Would love to see them installed, I recall speaking to someone in the Inland Fisheries in 2016 and they would be considering them for the Dodder once the flood defence works have been completed. It would be some resource to have if they can back in any numbers.

It would be great to see a separate contractor come in. Build them off site. Crane them in and get a head start helping the fish up river. Even Temporary Fish ladders / Passes would help.

dodderangler · 07-11-2019 9:00pm

Yeah I can also imagine posting it on a public forum for every poacher in the country to see it!!

delmonte4 · 17-05-2020 9:31am

Can anyone tell me, is the section of the Dodder from The Herbert Park Hotel to say Anglesey Bridge worth fishing for brownies or is it too tidal? Been parking up there for a couple of hours these days as the other half is in and out of Holles Street and with COVID im not permitted to go in. Might as well wet a line to kill a bit of time if it’s a runner

elgriff · 19-05-2020 5:41pm

That area of the river is pretty dug up. I would consider walking up closer to Clonskeagh. Beside Clonskeagh Inn has a lot of fish

dodderangler · 19-05-2020 6:50pm

With the river not stocked it's a good time to practise catch and release lads.
Continue to release all fish and remember maggots are illegal on the river.
So dont be plowing them with maggots. Ruins the fishing for fly anglers too. And I seen lads fishing on firhouse waterfall other day and the mess they left of smokes and cans everywhere.

Fly Fishing on the Dodder

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