Action Discs
Fly Movement: Action Disc
Trout are primarily visual feeders. Lures must look like food. It is movement that convinces trout to strike. Just pulling a fly through the water like a wet dish rag will not catch fish. Imparting movement to the fly is the key.
Trolling anglers have tried many things to give life like movement to fur and feathers. Some have trolled flies behind spinners. I have heard of attaching a fly behind a large flatfish on a leader to make it swim. One of the best anglers to give action to a fly is Jay Fair. He uses rod manipulation to animate his fly. This works well at shallow depths if you know how to move the rod. If you do not get it right you are just proving that, ”trolling flies don’t work”.
Dodgers do a good job of adding action to flies. They are designed to swing side to side rather than spin. In addition to color and flash the other attraction they provide is sound. The side to side action puts off the same vibration/sound as the tail of a predator fish when they accelerate after a bait fish. It is this feeding sound that attracts other predators to the vicinity.
Dodgers can animate a trolling fly in two ways, side to side action or a surge and slow, pulsing movement. The determining variable for the dodger/fly combination is leader length between the two. A leader 1.5 X the dodger length will transmit the side to side movement to the fly. As the leader is lengthened the side to side is dampened and the fly pulses forward then slows, pulses then slows. This gives an interesting swimming action to the fly. For a 4 inch dodger, a six inch leader will swing a fly side to side, a 30 inch leader will pulse. The negative with dodgers is the weight they add to the line. They necessitate heavier gear including rod, line and reel.
The ultimate in fly animation is the WiggleFin Action Disc. It was the impetus for the founding of the Arctic Fox Trolling Flies. I read an industry press release for the product and immediately saw the application for trolling flies. It was light weight for ultra-lite gear or fly rod fishing. The Action Disc does not have a top or bottom. It free-slides and spins on the line. It could put motion to the fly at depth with a downrigger. It is one of those elegantly simple designs that functions well without complicated rigging or too many parts.
HOW TO TUNE THE ACTION DISC
The Action Disc does three things as it moves through the water. As the pressure builds up on the concave face it “dumps” off the disc in a random pattern, side to side and up & down. The arm on the rear of the disc is a lever that moves the fly side to side/up and down. Secondly as the water moves over the disc it creates turbulence. This turbulence lifts the material of the fly giving it bulk and enhancing the flowing movement of the fox fur or other fly materials. The third advantage is that the disc “pushes water”. In stained water where visibility is poor, fish search for food with their lateral line. This picks up vibration such as given off by bait fish or action discs.
The distance an “Action Disc” is fixed above the fly and the speed at which it is trolled will determine the motion of the fly. It is these two variables that make the system so versatile.
Example #1: “Action Disc” with a #2 Arctic Fox Trolling Fly.
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With the disc free sliding on the line it will be pushed to the nose of the fly. At speeds from 1.1 mph to 1.9mph the fly will track true, back up-belly down. The turbulence from the disc will lift out the fur wing giving the fly a taller profile like a bluegill or perch might have. If the fur is sufficiently long it can get “S” turns as it swims. As the speed is increased through 2.0 mph the fly will begin a slow rotary roll in addition to the wiggle.
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By fixing the disc up the line above the fly 3 to 5 inches the following changes take place. The fly will track true at higher speeds as the disc is moved farther away from the fly. The disc set away from the fly decreases the turbulent effect on the fur. This results in a slimmer profile reminiscent of a smelt or other torpedo shaped minnow. Another effect is that the fur will vibrate rather swim.
My point is that a trolling fly and “Action Disc” can be tuned by changing the speed and disc distance. This allows an Arctic Fox Trolling Fly to be fished simultaneously with a slow speed Flatfish lure or a high speed spoon. This combo is truly versatile. Another point is that you need to experiment with speed and disc placement to learn what works for your situation.
Example #2: “Arctic Fox Tube Fly” with an “Action Disc”.
Arctic Fox Tube Flies are a smaller bait than the #2 Trolling Fly. The tube flies imitate a smaller bait fish. With the Action Disc free sliding on the line above the tube fly, the water pressure pushes it back to the nose of the fly.
Should you wish to view our offering of Action Disc click the link below to THE FLY SHOP