Fly Fishing on the Dodder

flanum · 28-05-2010 4:57am

dunno what tiny fly your fishing, but i found "gink" works well... very sparsely... a tiny drop on your fingers and rub it into the fly.. then blow like feck onto th fly to dry it into it... then just drop the fly into the water at your feet to let the oil out... youll see the film of oil... then retreive it up again.. give it a few false casts or swishes then cast out again... should be sittin lovely within the film of the surface then.. above and under!!

love to fly fish · 30-05-2010 2:17pm

Thanks lads i tried the 3lb leader the other day on the dodder had a few rises to my dry midge fly but they are fast feckers kept missing them but great crack.

love to fly fish · 30-05-2010 2:19pm

DickieBowe wrote: »

Have to say CJ is bang on the money, as far as line thickness goes, clearly a case of "less is more"

Might i make one suggestion, that you walk up from the Spawell towards
the South and try near the Boxing Club.

Hope this helps.

Hi thanks were is that boxing club whats it near

b.w.ollie · 30-05-2010 11:01pm

I find it is not so much the breaking strain of the line that counts as the diameter for example i use ''frog hair'' tippet. 4.9lb (5x)frog hair is as thin as 3lb ''maxima'' nylon. love the stuff. ''Rio'' is a close second (''stroft'' I don't like. it tend to hold kinks I find) i'm sure others have their favourites too. one thing is NOT to use fluorocarbon tippet dry fly fishing as it tends to be very flashy above the surface as all above are available in ''fluro'' as well as copolymer ''poly' go for the copolymer for dry. unfortunately frog hair is expensive and comes in only 30yd spools.but dodder trout are worth it. don.t go under 3lb as they take fast and you will end up snapping them off on the strike. for leader length if you use straight through go about a rod and a quarter length as a good start. one tip if you are fishing in rough water in the weirs or at night you can shorten the leader right down to around 5ft this helps judge where the fly is if you can't see it (trout are less careful at night) tapererd leaders do help presentation but I use a poly leader &tippet but thats just my preference 'hope this is some use to you.tight lines

love to fly fish · 31-05-2010 2:00pm

b.w.ollie wrote: »

I find it is not so much the breaking strain of the line that counts as the diameter for example i use ''frog hair'' tippet. 4.9lb (5x)frog hair is as thin as 3lb ''maxima'' nylon. love the stuff. ''Rio'' is a close second (''stroft'' I don't like. it tend to hold kinks I find) i'm sure others have their favourites too. one thing is NOT to use fluorocarbon tippet dry fly fishing as it tends to be very flashy above the surface as all above are available in ''fluro'' as well as copolymer ''poly' go for the copolymer for dry. unfortunately frog hair is expensive and comes in only 30yd spools.but dodder trout are worth it. don.t go under 3lb as they take fast and you will end up snapping them off on the strike. for leader length if you use straight through go about a rod and a quarter length as a good start. one tip if you are fishing in rough water in the weirs or at night you can shorten the leader right down to around 5ft this helps judge where the fly is if you can't see it (trout are less careful at night) tapererd leaders do help presentation but I use a poly leader &tippet but thats just my preference 'hope this is some use to you.tight lines

Hi thanks for the advice could i use a straight through 3lb poly leader and would it turn over ok

coolwings · 31-05-2010 5:05pm

I would always use a straight through leader when the wind is behind me. Double the end over and tie the doubled 3lbs to a 10-12lb wear & tear collar of line on the end of the flyline with a 4 turn water knot, or double uni knot.

For fancier presentation in a headwind: tippet 4' length 3lbs Maxima would be my standard choice, off 5' of 6lbs, off an 18" 10-12lbs permanent collar on the end of the flyline.

Those setups would be for single fly presentations. I suppose they are simple setups compared to what some people use, but they work for me.

jack01986 · 31-05-2010 5:05pm

Just a couple of hours this afternoon. Had to use my lake rod as my river rod had been broken a few weeks back. It made casting a bit awkward but nothing I couldnt get around. The little brownies were rising everywhere I missed a good few rises and managed to land two of them. They are cool little fish they go bonkers when they are hooked. All of them were hooked on small black midge patterns using a 9ft tapered leader with a 4lb tippet.

love to fly fish · 31-05-2010 7:13pm

coolwings wrote: »

I would always use a straight through leader when the wind is behind me. Double the end over and tie the doubled 3lbs to a 10-12lb wear & tear collar of line on the end of the flyline with a 4 turn water knot, or double uni knot.

For fancier presentation in a headwind: tippet 4' length 3lbs Maxima would be my standard choice, off 5' of 6lbs, off an 18" 10-12lbs permanent collar on the end of the flyline.

Those setups would be for single fly presentations. I suppose they are simple setups compared to what some people use, but they work for me.

Thanks coolwings will give that set up a go

love to fly fish · 31-05-2010 7:14pm

jack01986 wrote: »

Just a couple of hours this afternoon. Had to use my lake rod as my river rod had been broken a few weeks back. It made casting a bit awkward but nothing I couldnt get around. The little brownies were rising everywhere I missed a good few rises and managed to land two of them. They are cool little fish they go bonkers when they are hooked. All of them were hooked on small black midge patterns using a 9ft tapered leader with a 4lb tippet.

nice spot.

love to fly fish · 31-05-2010 7:55pm

coolwings wrote: »

I would always use a straight through leader when the wind is behind me. Double the end over and tie the doubled 3lbs to a 10-12lb wear & tear collar of line on the end of the flyline with a 4 turn water knot, or double uni knot.

For fancier presentation in a headwind: tippet 4' length 3lbs Maxima would be my standard choice, off 5' of 6lbs, off an 18" 10-12lbs permanent collar on the end of the flyline.

Those setups would be for single fly presentations. I suppose they are simple setups compared to what some people use, but they work for me.

Hi Just meant to ask you would you use floatant on your leader or dry fly and would it be even worth putting gink on a dry midge fly.

coolwings · 31-05-2010 11:59pm

It's personal but this is "my" system:
I use grease on the end of the fly line for dry, emerger, and nymphing the top.
The grease is put onto the leader (top part only) down to a knot, if I want to fish just under the surface film. the leader below that is degreased with a "sinkmix" to dull it's colour, roughen it's surface, and generally get it down.

The depth of emergers is managed by partial greasing the leader upper sections, and a "infinitismal slow crawl" retrieve to manage the angle of the sunken "hanging" part with the fly on it.
For this reason I only rarely put on a float/indicator. Nymphing without is more skillful and more difficult than using a bung, but well worth learning because once mastered it is more effective in most conditions, since slight movement of a buzzer pupa locks the trout's attention better than exact imitation with a more static presentation.
When you grease the top of the leader, degrease the tippet and middle, and retrieve at 1" per 5 seconds, a take is registered sooner giving a more leisurely response, and more fine tuning time for the strike. The leader seems to disappear down a hole in the water surface, an optical illusion, and the line tip moves towards the fly. I firmly believe that this is a more sensitive way than indicators, and takes are observed that go unseen with the other way of doing it.
So leader grease with sunk presentations and sinkant with floating presentations, and both with sub surface just below the film stuff.

And you're right - Gink on a dry midge works great on the Dodder.

jack01986 · 01-06-2010 10:33am

What are the main fly hatches on the river? I saw some quite sizeable flies hatch off the water yesterday they were brownish in colour?

love to fly fish · 02-06-2010 1:16pm

coolwings wrote: »

It's personal but this is "my" system:
I use grease on the end of the fly line for dry, emerger, and nymphing the top.
The grease is put onto the leader (top part only) down to a knot, if I want to fish just under the surface film. the leader below that is degreased with a "sinkmix" to dull it's colour, roughen it's surface, and generally get it down.

The depth of emergers is managed by partial greasing the leader upper sections, and a "infinitismal slow crawl" retrieve to manage the angle of the sunken "hanging" part with the fly on it.
For this reason I only rarely put on a float/indicator. Nymphing without is more skillful and more difficult than using a bung, but well worth learning because once mastered it is more effective in most conditions, since slight movement of a buzzer pupa locks the trout's attention better than exact imitation with a more static presentation.
When you grease the top of the leader, degrease the tippet and middle, and retrieve at 1" per 5 seconds, a take is registered sooner giving a more leisurely response, and more fine tuning time for the strike. The leader seems to disappear down a hole in the water surface, an optical illusion, and the line tip moves towards the fly. I firmly believe that this is a more sensitive way than indicators, and takes are observed that go unseen with the other way of doing it.
So leader grease with sunk presentations and sinkant with floating presentations, and both with sub surface just below the film stuff.

And you're right - Gink on a dry midge works great on the Dodder.

Thanks for that info much appreciated

b.w.ollie · 02-06-2010 11:17pm

love to fly fish wrote: »

Hi thanks for the advice could i use a straight through 3lb poly leader and would it turn over ok

''polyleaders'' are short (about a yard long) tapered leaders that have a loop on one ,sometimes both ends . they are made by ''Airflo'' they go on the end of your flyline to taper it to a finer line. They replace the first or butt section of homemade tapered leaders. they come in a range of floating. sinking, fast sink etc.some are made by covering heavy nylon with a pvc type coat. others are a braided section. I like to use the floating braided ones with a 4-6ft length of tippet.depending on rod length, wind ,current etc.they come in clear ,white and hi-vis orange for the floating. and dark colours in the sinking. I prefer the nylon/pvc in the sinking. now for a tip.get a fast-sink polyleader and keep it in your bag/fishing jacket. the next time your out dryfly fishing and there is not much on so you want to fish wetfly you can stick the fast sink polyleader on and turn your floating line into a sinktip to fish nymphs etc. note that this is only for shallow waters like rivers.but it can save you carring around a spare reel and wetline or having to walk back to the car to get it.
another tip if you miss a fish.fail to strike and he refuses to take again CHANGE THE FLY, same pattern size etc. if they have not been nicked by the hook or too spooked they'll take it.and also take up fly tying most shop flies for the Dodder are too big.tying is not difficult.and it improves your casting!..if you have a few flies of the same pattern in the box (and can tie more) you tend to cast more confidently into over hung areas.If you've got only one fly of that pattern... Sods law guarantees you'll get it caught on the bush/tree..

b.w.ollie · 02-06-2010 11:29pm

sorry I forgot to mention ''Polyleaders'' are not used alone but you add on a leader /tippet at the thin end use about 3lb breaking strain for the Dodder.

love to fly fish · 03-06-2010 9:05pm

Thanks for the info. Is there anybody heading out to the dodder for the wkd what lovely evenings for fly fishing.

jack01986 · 04-06-2010 12:00am

I'll be out at some stage over the weekend for sure. Cant miss out on the good weather. I'll be guy sweating his head off in his neoprene waders probably.

coolwings · 04-06-2010 8:54am

I will likely pop down for the evening rise too.

fourmations · 04-06-2010 2:10pm

i'll be down as well

dodder park rd area as usual

cheers

jack01986 · 07-06-2010 6:22pm

Was down in clonskeagh area of the dodder again today rain was a bit much as I forgot my rainjacket. Managed two small brownies out of the same section had a bit of an audience for the second one. Need to get myself a small landing net as well. Anyone got any tips for fishing the deeper pools below the weirs?

cj salmon · 07-06-2010 9:09pm

well done,you brave the weather and got a reward,must be in flood by now??? pretty little brownie ,wet fly???

jack01986 · 07-06-2010 10:24pm

Ye it was high enough when I was fishing its say its flooding now. Managed to get them on dry fly and wet. Got the bigger of the two on a size 16 black midge and the one in the pic on some grizze hackle fly not sure what its called.

peter74 · 15-06-2010 11:47pm

Recent rain on Sunday made river down below Ballsbridge college look like not flushed toilette. River is now full of toilet paper hanging from every stone in the river.:(

jack01986 · 16-06-2010 12:03am

Thats really annoying, it must be coming from around the Ballsbridge area because I was fishing from Herbert Park up towards Clonskeagh over the last few days and there was nothing apart from the usual rubbish there.

peter74 · 16-06-2010 2:34pm

This is the case of pipe just under Ballsbridge college from where all the sewage is coming from.I already sent email to fishery boards. hopefully something will be done.

jack01986 · 16-06-2010 2:39pm

What email did you send it to? I'll send them one as well.

ironbluedun · 16-06-2010 3:51pm

peter74 wrote: »

.I already sent email to fishery boards. hopefully something will be done.

someone pick me up off the floor..........i have keeled over with a bout of outrageous uncontrolled laughter……..

katy39 · 18-06-2010 12:54am

Hello all , I was with my boyfriend while he was fishing the Dodder along the Dodder road section, when a woman threw her dog in where he was fishing , he protested at this but she dismissed his protest because she said she was a resident and perfectly entitled to let her dog swim in the river ,does anyone know what is the Law, rules , etiquette is in this regard ?
Thanks.

jack01986 · 18-06-2010 1:05am

katy39 wrote: »

does anyone know what is the Law, rules , etiquette is in this regard ?
Thanks.

Common sense would say that she should find another spot to move on to but that rarely happens. It happened me the other day. Nobody owns the river so she cant say that she has more rights to it than anyone else.

Was there this evening as well caught a nice trout my best one so far anyway put up a serious scrap on the new rod he was about 12" long.

jack01986 · 18-06-2010 6:16pm

Another little brownie from the Dodder. Hooked four fish in the same spot only landed this guy. They were all jumping like mad and gave a lively fight.

Fly Fishing on the Dodder

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