Diver Down

[Rob G]

Been tying up some Dahlberg Divers (btw, if you ever get a chance to listen to Larry Dahlberg speak, well worth your time, both humorous and informative)

 

Anyway, just experimenting with different size and shaped heads, collars, and hooks. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience as to what will give these creatures greater movement and better hook ups? Thanks

 

[Steve S.]

I used to throw divers a lot when I first started fly fishing. The ones I used had slightly longer (rabbit strip) tails. Solid white and solid brown were what I primarily used.

 

Mine also had a loop of stiff mono tied off the back shank to keep the tail aligned and discourage it from wrapping around the hook.

 

They really work well for smallies and the toothy fish like them a lot as well.

[John Gillio]

Nice Rob! The couple I have are as Steve described. I'm not sure what else you could do to improve the action.

 

I agree with your take on Larry. He is well worth hearing.

[Scott Ferguson]

Years ago, I was attempting to fly fish for northerns in Canada. I was a novice fly fisherman at best and got a couple of books about fly fishing by Barry Reynolds and Larry Dahlberg. My first attempts at fly tying were Dahlberg Mega Divers. I actually made some decent flies but I was not prepared for how difficult they were to throw. I made some big flies that could hold quite a bit of water and were pretty wind resistant. It was like trying to throw a kite and once it was filled with water weighed as much as a roll of nickels. Even with an 11 weight rod, it was far beyond my ability to cast. I was smart enough to tie some Mickey Finn streamers and caught a bunch of pike with them. I never did get any pike on the divers

[Guest rich mc]

I would think that by making some with shorter collars and some long it would effect how deep they dive and what kind of bubble trail they leave behind. id ont fish those as I prefer gurglers and foam divers[ reverse tied gurglers] rich mc

[Tom L]

Came across this article awhile back. This fellow in Michigan shaped his diver into a wedge shape.

http://midcurrent.com/flies/bar-flies/

 

I personally haven't had much experience with poppers/divers.

[Mike G]

A voice said to me, "What would Larry do?"

 

I have this book published in 1992 that shows how Larry tied them, p.26-27. The link opens on page 27. Be sure to page back to 26 to see the original. The longer tail and 50+ strands of flashabou should give some action. There is a note on page 27 explaining the long tail.It is also interesting to see how he trimmed the head on his "Dahlberg" diver.

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=85jo5CPwn9UC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=original+dahlberg+diver+farrow+allen&source=bl&ots=53arJy-BhO&sig=XVqhQgFazcn1D41LH58pDVfyGtM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qfIiU7vTOKiIyAHQxIDoBg&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=original%20dahlberg%20diver%20farrow%20allen&f=false

[Allen Rupp]

To help with your hook ups, use a shorter shank hook. Fish eat the heads of things first normally, you want your hook up there too. Not a big fan of mustar hooks, but I still use the 3366 for this particular pattern...

[Ryan Kral]

I like throwing these with a short section of sink tip. Depending on how dense the deerhair is spun, obviously the more buoyant, and I just found a short section of the sink tip helped give it a little better action. I use that Rio custom cut express, and I just made one short 5'- 6' foot section with loops on both ends(for attachment ease), to help it dive a little better. Not enough to make it a true sub surface streamer, but enough to help it dive a little more. And that way, if I wanted to change my presentation, and swing it though a little deeper run, I could mend my line and let it get down a little. Just my experience fishing these one weekend almost exclusively. Ryan