Dapping

[mkwerx]

Anyone here a dapper fellow? I was at Powell's Books earlier, and came across a book on dapping. I can't remember the author - I read a couple chapters while waiting for my wife to do her thing, and the author focused a lot on the blowline method of dapping. Had me very intrigued. His setup wasn't something most fly fishing purists would care for (some would probably have a coronary) - 17 to 20 foot dapping rods, using spinning reels (said it's because of the faster line retrieve speed than a center pin or fly reel offers) with 10lb mono with 4-10 feet of silk-floss blowline, and then a leader from 4-10lb depending on fly size. No casting involved with this blowline dapping - as it is what it sounds - the silk floss blowline (or sail) catches what breeze there is and carries the fly away. You control the fly by raising or dropping the rod tip, letting the fly swoop over the water or alight on the surface and dance - as closely mimicking the action of real bugs as can be done without fishing real bugs allegedly.

There were accounts of this method working for trout, bass, panfish, atlantic salmon and carp.

I've dapped a lot before - but not with the blowline - I usually do it by keeping a short length of leader out of the tiptop - and a short length of line off the reel spool to help cushion the run if a good fish takes and makes a run for it - and keep all the line off the water. It's good for pick pocketing pocket water on small streams, or in tight quarters. Longest rod I've ever done this with before was 9', which means you have to be within 9' + your arms length away from the spot you want to fish at most. I am usually using a heavily hackled fly - either a palmer-type (bivisbles) dry, or something like a humpy or irresistible. Something that floats high on the water and looks buggy.

Have also dapped small jigs for crappie & bluegill in tight spots with a long spin rod or flyrod - keeping the jig just at the surface. Can drive the little buggers so mad that they finally slam the lure with all their gusto and usually hook themselves.

Does anyone else dabble in dapping? If so, what's your method and best catch? My largest dapped fish was a 12 inch rainbow from a small creek, taken from pocket water. Hawg for the water (s)he was in.

[clarkman23]

Personally, I use the technique (not the gear) a lot...mostly on small plunge pool creeks, but I've also used it with a lot of success on the Deschutes sneaking up behind the tall grass...that method has even worked (to a lesser degree) on the Met. I've been curious about the gear used, but not curious enough to go out and buy it...utilizing the technique is a blast though, it forces one to work on their stalking skills...

[mkwerx]

I'm with you on the gear issue - the prices quoted in the book (which was a few years old) were $200 for the plain jane 17 foot Shakespeare made graphite rod, and prices went up up up from there. There was mention of one English rod maker that has rods upto 47 feet, which run about $6000 USD. That's a lot of money to spend on any fishing rod.

The thought of using a length of the silk floss line makes sense though - it's really light, airy, and would catch air really well. I've never seen any in the local shops though - so it's probably a special-order type item - I don't think you could get by with using fly-tying type stuff on anything bigger than bluegill/crappie because of the breaking strength.

[Nick6547]

I think I've read that book - and it was the worst fishing book I have ever read. I actually wondered if the author had ever actually used any of the stuff he wrote about, and he certainly knew nothing about standard dapping methods. Anyway, I have done a lot of dapping with blowline, almost all in Scotland. It can be fantastically effective in the right conditions, and the takes are always fun. It can be done quite effectively with a 9 or 10' rod if you've got enough wind, but a longer rod is better. A 13 or 14' spey rod is about ideal. Over there it's almost all done from a boat, drifting downwind and covering the water in front of you. You need at least 20' of blow line, and cover water about 20 - 30' out. As for fish, the best ones were sea run browns and atlantic salmon up to 15 pounds or so. Seeing one of those launch themselves out of the water to attack a fly 20' away is interesting, and takes nerves of steel to wait until they turn down before setting the hook :)

[Bill Rogue V.]

That sounds like a lot of fun. I've only done the small-stream stuff, dangling the fly over logs or over a cut bank. Still a lot of fun when the trout hit it. The blow line makes a lot of sense in specific conditions, though. Might work well with a "colonial" style outfit of fixed line and jointed wood pole.

[gthfish]

Confirmed lifelong HopperDropper here! Nothing betterthan spending the day waist deep in beaver pond mud dropping or Bow and Arrow casting a hopper under an overhang and watching a "Way too big for this water" cut rise from the bottom and inhale it!

[MarlinMark]

I like to employ the "bow and arrow" cast on the small creeks.