Rejection speed (Dodder centric)

Evac101

I've fished the Dodder on the fly for about 10-12 years on and off (mostly off it must be said) and one of the things that always amazes me is how quickly fish take and then reject the fly there. I assumed that this was normal for years until I started fishing other rivers (and lakes) down the country and found that, generally, I seemed to have a more significant window to strike elsewhere then on the Dodder. Chatting with other anglers who fish it seems to confirm this, with a number saying that the Dodder actually trains you to strike too quickly to fish many other rivers successfully (i.e. whipping the fly out of the fish before it actually closes down on it).

I'm wondering is this normal oneupsmanship or are the fish there genuinely faster to reject a fly then elsewhere? It's entirely possibly that I might be fishing better on other rivers just because I've got it in my head that it's harder to successfully strike a fish on the Dodder. If, however, they do reject the fly faster, can anyone put forward an explanation as to why?

dodderangler

Could well be down to the fact it's fished a lot and fish have gone weary.
Don't believe the memory of fish being short.
They could possibly be well wide to what's going on

Evac101

Perhaps, although I've been visiting some of the less travelled parts of the Dodder recently and while I get more takes, the speed at which they release the fly seems to be consistent with their more visited cousins at other stretches (Templeogue and downstream).

dodderangler

Evac101 wrote: »

Perhaps, although I've been visiting some of the less travelled parts of the Dodder recently and while I get more takes, the speed at which they release the fly seems to be consistent with their more visited cousins at other stretches (Templeogue and downstream).

Trust me there isn't a part on that dodder that isn't fished but I do know of places that no one only fly anglers will fish as it's fairly shallow. You'll need a good cast as it's quite a hard spot on it to fish with the trees overhanging but there is lovely trout in it. Not easily spooked either. I do minnow it from time to time in some small pools and always catch.

jack01986

I always find the Dodder fish to be lightning quick when taking a fly compared to some other rivers I've fished.

Bogwoppit

I've never fished a river where striking too quick will lose a fish, in my experience there are very few occasions where you don't want to strike as quick as possible on a river.