In reading the "Snohomish Snaggers" thread (which had me cracking up), there were several references to Rod teaching people how to "properly fish the dick nites for silvers". I don't fish them often but was curious as to what people meant.

Is this referring to fishing them off a 2-4 foot leader and doing something like a cross between swinging them and drift fishing them?

Thanks,
Kaiser D.

The guy at the gas station in Marblemount was telling me the super secret trick to getting the fire engines in the hatchery creek to bite was to take a sharpie and color the dick nite black. That black color really turns em on! Gonna have to stock up on some black yarn and small black corkies as well I guess.

I have rigged them with a longer leader, 4 or so, and the typical lead configuration for drift fishing and they feel pretty good. I haven't caught dick (pardon the pun) on them around here though. They fish pretty well on a fly rod with a fast sinking line

dick nites are some of the best flossing lures i know of. They even work better than yarn sometimes. funny how people call other people snaggers when they are doing the same thing but with "dick nites" lol. I seen some guy rantin about a yarn dude fishing a six foot leader. When he was using a longer leader than him , but was using a "dick nite" so he wasn't flossing but actually fishing for biters .

Most fish either voluntary or involuntary are snagged in the mouth. That's what the hook set is all about. Yall are sniggers and don't even know it.

I am really interested to find out the answer to this.

There is a lot of palaver about the DNs and many *good* fisherman, seem to get fish to bite on them. I can totally see that, as I have caught and seen caught lots of silvers on small FSTs just hanging in the current, and they are just fatter versions of DNs. It is also easy to see how they could be used pretty effectively for flossing.

I have tried them a bunch of times, fishing for rolling silvers in sloughs, and slack waters. I.e. places where the fish have to be moving around, and where bites can come at any point in the retrieve, and I have never got one to bite a DN. Of course the guys in the boat with me fishing the regular stuff (vibrax, and jigs) were getting fish.

I have only ever seen one other guy using them and he was getting fish. He was fishing in a slow deep hole, with a 6 foot leader, and about 3" of fat lead. His hookset however was long, fast, and parallel to the water, and judging by that my guess would be he was flossing.

DN's or old school Schoffs tipple teasers - same thing - have both been bit by silvers. Proof is in the frog water and having them rigged trout style. 3 foot leader and a couple egg sinkers reeled in slowly. BAM. Open up the hooks on the #1's for a bigger gap.

You can add that to you're 100 possible ways of getting them to bite something.

Right On!
I think this thread is definately going to turn into the annual PP "do silvers really bite Dick Nite's" Thread! Always a fall classic!



Personally, I dont care either way since I dont use them. I know they bite a Rvrfshr 50/50 swung into their face or eggs.

dick nites are some of the best flossing lures i know of. They even work better than yarn sometimes. funny how people call other people snaggers when they are doing the same thing but with "dick nites" lol. I seen some guy rantin about a yarn dude fishing a six foot leader. When he was using a longer leader than him , but was using a "dick nite" so he wasn't flossing but actually fishing for biters .

Rigging a DickNite and leader length is not as critical as the "how" it's being fished.

I would contend that if you are sweeping across a riffle/run with a DN, those fish will more than likely be flossed.

You can tell when you are flossing (on purpose or not) fish with DN's, as the fish will be hooked in the corner of the mouth (in or out).

OTOH.....

Park your boat above holding fish in a riffle, cast your DN past and downstream of them, and retrieve the DN back UP river. As the DN goes up and past their face, they will snap at it, if they are biters. Those fish will be hooked in the tip of the SNOUT.

Or, run a DN behind a diver. Back the DN in to holding fish in a riffle. Again, if biters, hooked in the SNOUT.

Or, cast a DN in a froggy slackwater backeddy. Retrieve back to you in a slow manner. The snappy fish will hit the DN and all will be hooked in the SNOUT. If hooked in the corner of the mouth, you probably incidently flossed it as the fish were swirling around in circles in the eddy.

The longer the leader, and the more you cast up and across versus down and swing, the more likely you are to be flossing fish. I know it's a fine line, and it's impossible to enforce, so it's up the individual angler to decide if his or her ethics allow them to floss fish when they know that's what's happening.

I'm with Ryley on this one...they hit the heck out of spinners and casting spoons, and eggs under a float are always a good standby...I know I'm not flossing 'em, and that works for me.

Fish on...

Todd

P.S. Fish dick nites behind a diver, and you will get a lot of fish that are most assuredly biting the lure...it works, and it works well.

Even better, just cast your DN straight downriver from your *ancored* DB and plop the rod in the rod holder. Let the DN just sit back there and wobble.

Have a sammich. Look up river at the other fisherman and don't pay any attention to either rod.

Notice some odd "creaking" noise coming from both rod holders.

Look back as both your rods are pegged to the waterline with a coho on.

"Hey Justin, what's the noise????"

Yer right on that one, too.

Grab a little larger FST and flatline 'em into the coho zone...wait until the line is zinging off the reel, and then get your harvest on.

Damn Chinarks...released three around 30# on Tuesday

Fish on...

Todd

There you go Ryley. Even if it may mean catching slightly fewer fish, fishing in a style that is more engaging or interactive is more enjoyable for me. Feeling the grab on a swinging spoon or spinner feels better than watching a bobber go down and hoping for some weight on the other end. Maybe not as effective in certain conditions, but good enough for most of the time.

I have taken real notice to where I am hooking Coho in the mouth for the last 4 (didn't really notice prior to that) seasons because of this very discussion using Dick Nites and was surprised by the results.

85%-90% of the landed fish have been hooked in the tounge or in the corner of the mouth closest to me, 10%-15% have been hooked on the corner of the mouth farthest from me indicating a possible floss. I normally use a 4-6' leader with a dropper. Now I normally set my boat up so that the Dick Nite is front of the fish where it would likely grab it rather than be flossed though. I have had several fish hooked in the very back of their throats as well. The fish I landed Saturday I think must have really attacked it because the take was very violent. I normally try several methods through out the day (Plugs, Spinners, Spons, eggs, DN's, Jigs, etc.) and for Snohomish system fish the Dick Nites work best molst years.

I think if I had a bigger sample pack of those Rvrfsh spoons I would have better results.

Move over boat ho's, there's a player in the arena for gear!

there's an article on steelhead university that says to drift fish them with a 6-8' leader...riiiiight.

i seldom use the things, but i can attest that they do work well under a bobber in low water conditions.

RR your right...halis fish have never touched a dn for me either. Maybe were are both fishing it wrong.

I fish primarily Dick Nites for coho on the Snohomish and have for many years. Including today when a nice 11# Buck slid into the net. It's all in your presentation. I've never had a hookset outside the mouth, never. Often in the under tip of the nose. If I'm anchored and I'm reeling straight upstream behind the boat, against the current and there is a hit, chances are it's not a floss. I never use a "courtesy hookset" at the end of a drift. It's the presentation.

Today there were some of those "no-biter" schools of coho at the mouth of the Pilchuck. Both my buddy and I made dozens of casts with Dick Nites through the huge school..............not one hit, not one floss, you know why? They weren't biting and we weren't trying to floss. At a different location I made a cast and with the lure only about 20 feet away from the boat and in the top few feet of 20' deep water, I had an a$$-cracking hit because the fish bit the spoon. I have often seen coho follow my Dick Nite clear to the boat then swim away at the last moment.

Sure there are morons who floss with Dick Nites, yarn, buzz bombs, etc. But I get pretty tired of hearing that if you fish a Dick Nite you are ALWAYS flossing.....bullsh%t.

If you want to catch salmon fairly with a Dick Nite you can, it's in the presentation.

So what's the presentation?

Here's the thing that cracks me up about people accusing Dick Nite users of intentionally flossing: Have you seen the size and shape of the little hooks on them?

There are MUCH more effective flossing tools used on the Snohomish than a Dick Nite spoon. Just ask all the guys using yarn.

Hell, I bet J-D is probably a yarn fishing expert.