A few months ago Jimmy Eagelton introduced me to a pattern that produced quite a few silver kob (Argyrosomus inodorus) for him on the West Coast. He tied the fly specifically to be fished tight against rocky substrate where the kob were holding, without getting snagged. The drop-shot fraternity on the West Coast and their sucsesses with silver kob motivated him to come up with this pattern. Hence the name; DMA stands for Drop-shot My Ass.
Jimmy ties his pattern on a 60degree jig hook with heavy dumbbell eyes. This allows the angler to bump the fly over the rocks and ‘feel’ his way along the bottom. Should you get snagged, a gentle pull will free the fly.
I have never felt the need to fish for kob tight against rocky structure, because the areas we usually fish off the bricks and in the surf is fairly shallow, and most patterns retrieved low in the water column and over the rock yielded success. That was until recently when I started targeting dusky kob higher up in estuaries off rocky points and deeper ledges. I needed a fly that could be counted down deep, and retrieved until it hit the ledge around which the kob were holding. A few weeks ago I tied up a couple of DMA’s and was really surprised by it’s effectiveness with juvenile kob.
Awesome Conrad! That fly is so deadly man, I am dead keen to try it on tigerfish soon as well…
Lekker looking fly Conna, and even better looking Kobbies… Gonna have to try spin a few of those up..
Very cool. I have become mildly obsessed with jig hooks in bigger patterns since you introduced me to the Meat Whistle. I have an idea I’m working on for The Pole Dancer using jig hooks based on the Zara Spook design. I’ll keep you posted. . . . If it works 😉
Sorry I’m missing you at Vice Squad, it’s going to be a good one. I’m off to Cyprus for 3 weeks, so hook up when I’m back.
bro, a smaller version of that puppy could be deadly for smallies
top pic looks just like a redfish !!!
Nice flies and very jealous of those Kob! Now for the real question, where can I get some of those hooks? (Make, Model, Size will also help)
Hi Konrad. You’ll have to shop around online and see what you can find. I got some 2/0 Targus 9413 60 degree jig hooks a few years ago and that is what I’m using now. The Mustad 32786 BLN jig hook also looks nice.
Perhaps Stream X can bring in a few packs of these jig hooks. Craig?
this is awesome! always amazed at the flies Jimmy comes up with. Love the sculpin adaption.
Please do a YouTube tutorial!! This looks deadly!