I know how to tie it. I have read how to fish it but I don’t get it. Is this fly supposed to sit on top and near the surface ( after it is soaked ) and jut downward then float up?
What works best long pulls - 25 inches? short pulls 12 inches. should the thing rest between pulls?
Or should I make this think act like a slider? Which if you tie it tightly it will do.
This is the fly upon which I catch nothing ever. Just incase anyone was wondering. I read the Fathead diver fly of the week and it reminded me.
JB,
It’s one of my fav. flies. There’s few ways to fish it “wrong”. Perhaps you might be too agressive for the fish you’re after if you use 25" strips though??
Tie one with a weed guard and toss her into the weeds. Short strips, maybe a few inches and gentle. Even frogs don’t “KERSCHPLUNNKK”!! Watch one, they’re very subtle. And no, pauses don’t seem to kill it’s effectiveness. I pause sometimes quite often.
We underestimate the predatory instincts of fish. That lateral line, I strongly believe, is “WAAAY” more sensitive than we think.
They’re predators…they know when your fly is around and acting unnatural.
I’ll use them in small sizes for everything from sunnies to bass. And usualy it’s a TMC 8089 #2 for bass as well as muskies. Yep, muskies!!
One of the best flies in my warm water box. And I have lots of 'em.
Gentle. Gentle. Gentle. Right around/inside/outside/over the top of/underneath…the weeds…
Jeremy is right on with his answer. I love 'em. A couple of times fish have taken it on the way down from a leap. Love it when it happens, but I don’t understand why or how it happens. My favorite method is to poke it along. Short strip, wait. Again and again. Weedless is important. You might want to bring it parallel to the edge of a weedbed. Cast tight to the shore and work it out. In farm ponds this is really effective. Have fun. JGW
Can’t add much to the advice on how to fish the diver. It is right on the money. Just want to add to the encouragement to keep fishing the dahlberg. In my experience it is right up there with a clouser in terms of effectiveness. I’ve caught and released my biggest pike,bass and lake trout on this fly. In addition, I’ve taken brown trout,walleye, striped bass, white bass, crappie and blue gills on them. They are just as effective when retrieved subsurface as they are on top.
GRAND bug.
Several “forms” of dahlberg get concocted around here quite regularly. As stated, it is one grand pond bug. A splayed hackle tail done in light color on the bottom works well for us as a “frog” Dark w/ a bunny strip tail works well for us as a tadpole or just plain old “brush bug”. Done white w/ reflective stuff and a white bunny tail and tossed generally to open water gets duty as a baitfish immy.
Weedless is GOOD, like said.
As with any immi, it seems advantageous to put it WHERE the immitated is likely to be, PLUS, puppeteer the immi to the likely moves expected of the immitated.
…lee s.
PS - Keep at it and enjoy the dance when it happens.
[This message has been edited by lee s (edited 08 October 2005).]
The fish will let you know how they want it, It seems a bit different every time.
This was the first fly I ever tied,and I think the best way to start out,as it is not the simplest fly out there.
Great fly and heart stopping strikes!!!
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
Everyone wants to excel in this sport but at the same time we let traditionalists place restrictions on our tactics, methods, and ideas. Fly fishers often refer to Fox Statler as “out of the box.” The truth is that I never got in the proverbial “box.” I always assumed that fly fishing was a sport that allowed imagination, creation, adaptation, investigation, dedication, education, revelation? : Fox Statler, On Spinners (Not the dainty Dry Fly kind) “Spinner’d Minner Fly”
Don’t forget to fish the Dahlberg and its variations on a sinking line at any depth. When stripping, the line pulls it down and it rises on the pause. Very effective at times for many species. You can fish it right on bottom structure this way.
