Need help tying on 2nd fly

[TonyC.]

Just started tying on 2nd fly. How long is the tippet between flys? Where do you attach the 2nd fly tippet? What knot do you use? Do you use a strike indicator, if so where is it located. I need easy to tie knots, my eyes and fingers are not what they use to be, and I am spending to much time tying on a new fly.
Any info. will be appreciated. I fish slow moving rivers.
thanks TonyC.

[billknepp]

the length between is not all that critical...Most need to play with that to see what works best for the flies and their casting,as different flies behave differently in terms of twisting and so forth...Most ppl also tye the tippet to the bend of the front flies hook and tie on the second fly as usual...I would suggest trying around 12 to18" to start off...

[Wild One]

if you use a clinch or improved clinch, use that for every tippet to fly connection. As bill said, tie the tippet onto the bend of the hook on the first fly, then tie the second one on like normal. No need for an idicator in between flies. If you want to, put an indicatory above both flies or use a dry fly on the top fly as an indicator. If you're using two streamers, no indicator needed at all.
I use this set up almost every time I fish wether it is moving water, fast or slow or stillwater. Good luck and have fun!

[bowmaker1]

Just this spring I read about leaving a long tag end on the leader when you tie on the tippet and tying one fly on that tag and the other on the tippet. I rigged that way on a trip to Bennett Springs earlier this month and it works great. I used to tie the second fly on a piece of tippet tied with a clinch knot to the bend of the first hook, and found that I got a lot of tangles and that very few fish hit the first fly because of the strange angle or appearance due to the second fly. On this trip I tied the tippet on with a double surgeon's knot and left a 6" or 8" tag end of the leader itself. Then I tied on a white mini jig to that tag and either a chamois fly or a pheasant tail as the bottom fly 12 or 14" below the first one. The mini jig worked great to get the bottom fly down deeper and still caught some fish and I had one double for a while. I had almost no tangles even roll casting most of the time. Try it once and I think you will like it.

[JeffHamm]

Hi TonyC,

I often fish a team of 3 wee wets, with a mix of winged and hackled flies. Basically, I just triple surgeon knot a piece of nylon onto my leader, and leave one of the tags about 4 inches long (the tag from the "closer to the rod" section of nylon). The long tag is used as the dropper and the fly tied to that normally. I'll try and put about 16-18 inches between flies I suppose (I don't actually measure any of these so I'm estimating without anything relavant in front of me). Anyway, to avoid some heroic tangles, slow down your casting stroke and open up the loop. And, when you catch your first fish on a 2 or 3 fly team, when you are removing the hook in the fish be careful not to hook yourself on the other one! My first fish caught on a 3 fly team ended up hooking me in the thumb, hooking itself in the tail, then getting out of my hand and back in the water to take off. Fortunately, it was just a little guy so it didn't dig the hook in, but it was a shock!

Anyway, after fishing teams of 3 wet flies, I've found that fish can be caught readily on all 3 positions when tied this way. The "truck and trailer" set up (tie the 2nd to the bend of the 1st), is a great method for a dry fly and nymph off the back, or for a heavy weighted bomb with a small unweighted nymph behind. Typically, one is expecting the fish to take the trailer fly in this kind of set up, but it is not that uncommon to catch fish on the "truck" as well. In the dry/nymph combo, it's like using a strike indicator that might take fish. In the nymph/nymph combo, you're using the heavy fly to get the small unweighted nymph down deep in fast water.

- Jeff

[Donald Nicolson]

If I'm using two flies I do the same as Jeff, a three turn surgeons knot.
It is a very simple knot and secure.
The distance between flies can be whatever you want and can handle.

[jimmadsen]

I definitely tie my dropper onto the bend of the hook of my first fly. I've found my best success with having 12 inches between the two. Any more than that and I seem to invite tangles on my backcast. I don't know that you gain anything by having more distance between the two flies anyway.