The Poly Dodger imparts its own action and sound by deflecting water via mounting a polymer clay disc onto the main hook itself.
The wiggle eyes and beads give it sound. They rattle as the streamer dodges and darts around because of the Dodger Disc.
Here's how it all came about: The tying bug hit me amid winter 2014 as I waited for warmer days. I come from a largemouth bass angling background. Bass fishermen use crankbaits that impart action and sound to their presentations. Saltwater fishermen call these plugs. They almost all imitate baitfish.
Fly tyers spend a lot of time tying streamers and baitfish patterns, sort of our own handcrafted version of a crankbait. What do we lack? Motion and sound. Could streamers be made to swim and give off sound on their own? Yes. We can do even better because we can use any color combination imaginable, and the way we vary retrieves, we can better simulate wounded or fleeting baitfish.
Fishing The PolyDodger
Trolling works best. For trolling use whatever fly lines you have. Let out all the fly line straight down to the backing. Use an 8 ft. to 12 ft. straight monofilament leader in 10 or 12 lbs test line. Never troll in a straight line: zig zag, go in circles, or figure eights. Think of how baitfish swim.
For casting use 6/7 wt bass or saltwater tapered lines. This fly has a lot of wind resistance. You hear it whiz past like a bullet, so use heavy lines. I use 50 lb mono, two foot section of leadcore line, down to a short 4 ft. mono leader in 6 to 8 lbs test line. Casting these doesn't require as heavy a leader as trolling. Use the shorter leader lengths for casting.
Let's get into tying this thing.
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NOTE: I use synthetic materials. Use whatever materials you see fit. Traditional bucktail streamers work are fine. To adapt your favorite streamer, use a tandem hook instead of a long-shanked hook, then add the dodger to the main hook.
Videos
Making the discs
Mounting the discs
The finished fly
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