I fish almost exclusively with droppers - but usually with all flies being nymphs or egg patterns. I use a strike indicator to detect strikes. Yesterday I had good success fishing a Y2K about 2 feet below a strike indicator and a hairs ear nymph (HE) about 15 inches below and a Minnie Midge (MM) about 15 inches after the HE. I tie the droppers to the bend in the hook using a Davy Knot (I highly recommend this knot for tying the droppers and the fly to tippet). Almost all of the fish were caught on the MM which is nothing more than a size 16 curved hook, bead head and gray dubbing from my cat Minnie.

I have had many times of losing the whole rig after one or two casts and know how frustrating it can be, but droppers really do work. My best advice is to really get your knot tying down so it isn't as big a deal when you have to re-rig.

JR