Dace Thread

[jifigz]

Who out there is targeting dace? I am not, but sometimes in certain mountain streams the dace are almost maddening when they eat your dry as soon as it hits the water every single time. I would say that they fight great but I'd be lying. They are native and pretty, so that is cool, plus you can leave them on your dry fly and now fish the deadly dace and dry fly combo looking for that big lurking trout or fallfish. That is usually a ticket for success.

 

[jifigz]

The only pic I could remotely find of a minnow..I promise I caught this and wasn't fishing bait.

 

[hooker-of-men]

I love setting the hook and throwing em 20 feet downstream

 

[Beweav]

I posted this somewhere already but yeah I definitely set the hook a little harder then I needed to with this little guy 😂

 

[Fish Sticks]

I posted this somewhere already but yeah I definitely set the hook a little harder then I needed to with this little guy 😂View attachment 1641231047

Thats a rosy side dace they take drys pretty well. They have really nice colors as you can see and get bigger than that. Usually live right where brookies live.

 

[krayfish2]

The only pic I could remotely find of a minnow..I promise I caught this and wasn't fishing bait.View attachment 1641231046

Look at the markings on that little guy. Absolutely beautiful. Did you get it mounted?

 

[Bamboozle]

Who out there is targeting dace?

Don't laugh, but I am and it's actually a lot of fun...

Last year after watching this video I got into the "micro fishing" thing in small local creeks when I have an hour or less time to kill and where I know there are only very small fish.

Because the rod I use is so delicate, I'm fishing with 7X as my line and using either very small midges or minuscule amounts of bait on size 30 or 32 hooks.

The most difficult part of the whole experience is removing the tiny hooks from the tiny fish without hurting them. Hemostats are out of the question because you can end up damaging the hook or the fish if it gets hooked deep.

Fortunately I sourced some incredibly small hook disgorgers from the UK that make tiny hook removal a breeze.

 

[jifigz]

Look at the markings on that little guy. Absolutely beautiful. Did you get it mounted?

I couldn't find a taxidermist skilled enough to hide where I hooked it

 

[littlelimbs]

I love setting the hook and throwing em 20 feet downstream

I caught one a few weeks ago but didn't realize I had. I thought a fish made a strike at my fly and missed. It was only during my next cast that I realized something wasn't right with my dry fly and that poor little guy went for a ride while I false casted to dry my fly.

 

[littlelimbs]

Don't laugh, but I am and it's actually a lot of fun...

Last year after watching this video I got into the "micro fishing" thing in small local creeks when I have an hour or less time to kill and where I know there are only very small fish.

Because the rod I use is so delicate, I'm fishing with 7X as my line and using either very small midges or minuscule amounts of bait on size 30 or 32 hooks.

The most difficult part of the whole experience is removing the tiny hooks from the tiny fish without hurting them. Hemostats are out of the question because you can end up damaging the hook or the fish if it gets hooked deep.

Fortunately I sourced some incredibly small hook disgorgers from the UK that make tiny hook removal a breeze.

What type of rod/line are you using?

 

[jifigz]

I caught one a few weeks ago but didn't realize I had. I thought a fish made a strike at my fly and missed. It was only during my next cast that I realized something wasn't right with my dry fly and that poor little guy went for a ride while I false casted to dry my fly.

Oh yes, this is a common occurrence in the world of dace fishing.

 

[Fish Sticks]

I’d like to get a nice one weight like this one pictured in the advert

 

[jifigz]

Don't laugh, but I am and it's actually a lot of fun...

Last year after watching this video I got into the "micro fishing" thing in small local creeks when I have an hour or less time to kill and where I know there are only very small fish.

Because the rod I use is so delicate, I'm fishing with 7X as my line and using either very small midges or minuscule amounts of bait on size 30 or 32 hooks.

The most difficult part of the whole experience is removing the tiny hooks from the tiny fish without hurting them. Hemostats are out of the question because you can end up damaging the hook or the fish if it gets hooked deep.

Fortunately I sourced some incredibly small hook disgorgers from the UK that make tiny hook removal a breeze.

I wouldn't make fun of you or knock it. If you enjoy it then I don't care, do what makes you happy.

I won't target dace. If I want small fish I will target brookies. And I enjoy fishing for brookies. Dace are a fine bycatch. Some streams dace are maddening though as they are everywhere.

 

[Fish Sticks]

For some anglers they want something huge that pulls like crazy no matter what. The tug is drug as some would say.

For others fly fishing is more about exploring ecosystems, fish behaviors, seeing new species, knowing what lives/survives where and finding wonder wherever there is water.

Everyone is probably on a spectrum or mix between the two. Knowing how hard a fish pulls is relative to the rod and that smaller fish take more aggressively I am probably more of the second than the first on most days when I wake up.

 

[brookiefan]

Don't laugh, but I am and it's actually a lot of fun...

Last year after watching this video I got into the "micro fishing" thing in small local creeks when I have an hour or less time to kill and where I know there are only very small fish.

Because the rod I use is so delicate, I'm fishing with 7X as my line and using either very small midges or minuscule amounts of bait on size 30 or 32 hooks.

The most difficult part of the whole experience is removing the tiny hooks from the tiny fish without hurting them. Hemostats are out of the question because you can end up damaging the hook or the fish if it gets hooked deep.

Fortunately I sourced some incredibly small hook disgorgers from the UK that make tiny hook removal a breeze.

Could you be so kind as to list the source of those small hook disgorgers. I and maybe a few others might be interested in something like that. Thanks

 

[Bamboozle]

What type of rod/line are you using?

Probably more than you want to know but...

The rod I am using is a Nissin Air Stage Hakubai which is a 7" telescoping Seiryu rod from Japan, very similar to a Tenkara rod but designed for smaller fish. At first I thought I would want something shorter and more limber but this rod is PERFECT because 99% of the places I use it you can't get super close to the water and it gives me more reach for longer casts. It also can handle slightly bigger fish.

You use a fixed line on it like Tenkara, but because it is such a delicate rod, you MUST use at least some 7X or 8X so the line breaks before the rod IF you happen to hook a big(er) fish.

You can use a purpose made Tanago rig that is made with 7X but I make my own lines using about a foot of 3X attached to the end of the rod because the heavier line doesn't get wrapped around the end of the rod as easily as 7X if the rod bounces. The 12" of 3X is tied to a tippet ring and then about 5 feet of 7X gets tied to the tippet ring.

I make really small slip "bobbers" from Pompano floats so I can see the super subtle bites and there is also maker thread you can buy to put below the float so you can see the sideways movement when a fish takes.

It sounds kooky but it is really a lot of fun being able to fish in any trickle I see for an hour or less and catch a few fish.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Probably more than you want to know but...

The rod I am using is a Nissin Air Stage Hakubai which is a 7" telescoping Seiryu rod from Japan, very similar to a Tenkara rod but designed for smaller fish. At first I thought I would want something shorter and more limber but this rod is PERFECT because 99% of the places I use it you can't get super close to the water and it gives me more reach for longer casts. It also can handle slightly bigger fish.

You use a fixed line on it like Tenkara, but because it is such a delicate rod, you MUST use at least some 7X or 8X so the line breaks before the rod IF you happen to hook a big(er) fish.

You can use a purpose made Tanago rig that is made with 7X but I make my own lines using about a foot of 3X attached to the end of the rod because the heavier line doesn't get wrapped around the end of the rod as easily as 7X if the rod bounces. The 12" of 3X is tied to a tippet ring and then about 5 feet of 7X gets tied to the tippet ring.

I make really small slip "bobbers" from Pompano floats so I can see the super subtle bites and there is also maker thread you can buy to put below the float so you can see the sideways movement when a fish takes.

It sounds kooky but it is really a lot of fun being able to fish in any trickle I see for an hour or less and catch a few fish.

you should make a small ziplock photarium and post some species for identification!

 

[sixfootfenwick]

Don't laugh, but I am and it's actually a lot of fun...

Last year after watching this video I got into the "micro fishing" thing in small local creeks when I have an hour or less time to kill and where I know there are only very small fish.

Because the rod I use is so delicate, I'm fishing with 7X as my line and using either very small midges or minuscule amounts of bait on size 30 or 32 hooks.

The most difficult part of the whole experience is removing the tiny hooks from the tiny fish without hurting them. Hemostats are out of the question because you can end up damaging the hook or the fish if it gets hooked deep.

Fortunately I sourced some incredibly small hook disgorgers from the UK that make tiny hook removal a breeze.

That's pretty neat!

 

[Bamboozle]

Could you be so kind as to list the source of those small hook disgorgers. I and maybe a few others might be interested in something like that. Thanks

The "disgorgers" I use are made by a UK company called Drennan that specializes in tackle for Match & Coarse fishing in Europe. The size I use most is the MICRO that is REALLY small but PERFECT for tiny size 30 & 32 hooks.

The next size up is MATCH that would be ideal for hooks from 14 - 20.

Another UK based company that makes a slick disgorger is Preston Innovations. The one I linked to is double ended, it floats and has a knot picker inside.

I always have one of the Preston Innovations disgorgers with me when trout fishing or pan fishing but they were a royal pain in the a$$ to source like a lot of the tackle offered in Europe. I don't remember where I got them but it took a couple of years to finally get my hands on some.

The Drennan disgorgers are a little easier to source but the freight costs can be brutal if you can find somebody in the UK willing to ship them to you.

If you find a good reasonable, reliable source let me know as I can always use more back-ups.

Good luck if you go searching for some!

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Last year after watching this video I got into the "micro fishing" thing in small local creeks when I have an hour or less time to kill and where I know there are only very small fish.

This was a wonderful video. Very insightful and neat. Really pays respect to Japanese master rod builders and anglers. The Japanese can make anything cool I swear haha!

I was curious if those floats could be used for strike indicators for a fly rod, but I'd be too scared to use such a thing because I might toss it into a tree. I really enjoyed the craftmanship that is put into these rods, seems to be way more than even a US custom designer would be willing to do.

I wonder if I could take the tip off of a lighter rod and just use that to microfish with. I would attempt Edo-style at Hopewell lake where the average bluegill is fairly small.