Dapping For Dace

'Dapping for Dace' many of you will not of heard of this term before as it is a forgotten form of angling in this modern age of Carp Fishing. I myself was unaware of it until I read about it in an old Fishing book that i am currently reading.

Dapping or Dibbling as it is called in some parts of the country is a method that was once popular with many of the countries anglers. Dapping is achieved by hooking a fly onto your hook and dropping it onto the service of the stream or river where it will move about creating small vibrations that will attract the service feeding dace. You can use any type of fly although the book suggested Mayflies or the common house fly. You could of course use an artificial fly which would save you the trouble of where to source your bait.

The trick with Dapping is to drop your fly onto the feeding fish. It is important to stay out of site so you would need to fish from some form of cover. I would not say this is a method that will drastically change your catch results but if like me you like a change and a challenge it is worth a try. I was intrigued when i read about Dapping so yesterday I ventured down to the Stour and gave it a go. I was fishing the tail end of a weirpool so I had cover from the bankside trees and the white water. For bait I had caught a few Bluebottles that had been buzzing around the shed and after hooking one onto a size 14 hook and using a BB shot to add weight I lowered it onto the service of the water. After a few uneventful runs through I gently lifted the fly half an inch off of the water and let it drop, instantly i was into a lovely 8 oz Dace. Next cast I repeated the 'dapping' effect by lifting and dropping the fly and again a bite and another cracking 8 oz Dace this was the pattern until my supply of Flies had gone. In all i caught 12 Dace in an hour all of them around 6-8oz. I may not use this method often but it was fun to try and for those who like fly fishing or want to pursue the better than average Dace it is worth a go.