Droppers

[ausable_ny]

It's getting to that time of year when I'll start using big terrestrials with nymph droppers. I'll usually fish a foam hopper with an isonychia nymph tied to the bend of the hopper hook. I usually hang the nymph anywhere between 18 to 24 inched under the hopper. My question is how is the best way to cast this setup. I probably get no more than 25% of my casts to actually end up not tangled. I'm fishing this setup on an 8-1/2 ft 5wt. Any advice? I'd love to hear how you folks cast something like this (more than 10 ft anyway ). Thanks in advance.

Ken

[NJTroutbum]

It's probably a matter of slowing your cadence down a bit. You're starting your forward casta bit soon and your not allowing your leader to straightening out.

That being said, I've found some flies just do not work as an indicator. I don't fish droppers on anythng that has rubber legs, I find they will be a frustration by tangling with the dropper. Depending on the type of Hopper pattern you are working with, that may be the case. Try using something like a #10 Elk Hair Caddis and see if you get the same problem. If not, then it's the hopper pattern.

[CoachBob]

I fish droppers under big leggy bass bugs all the time. As in, ALL THE TIME.
The key is to forget everything you've heard about tight loops.
You are moving a lot of extra line after your indicator so use a smooth large loop. For that matter, think of it as a double dropper behind a stimulator. Tight loops means better chances for the dropper to nail the stimulator. As a matter of fact, if you have a really tight loop I can almost guarantee you will have your dropper catch up with your terrestrial.
Also, you want to double haul. With the large loop you will lose speed and casting length/accuracy unless you haul. You will also tend to get a tailing loop if you don't.
You can also roll cast if you have a big enough rod with backbone. Just make sure your terrestrial is skimming when you make the forward motion.
P.S. The more you get used to the big loop cast, the shorter rod you can use. I often use a small bass bug with a dropper (or double dropper) on my 6'3" 3 wt. rod. Not easy, but it's a can do.

[rockthief]

Ken ya might shorten the dropper line a few inches and get the physics more in your favor.. Also you may need to go up to a six weight or even use a heavier looped section that you tie your leader to for better turn over. Heck, I use 3 wt rods all the time with a dropper albeit not a big hopper. If you have a fiberglass rod try that. The slower stroke might work for you.

It's getting to that time of year when I'll start using big terrestrials with nymph droppers. I'll usually fish a foam hopper with an isonychia nymph tied to the bend of the hopper hook. I usually hang the nymph anywhere between 18 to 24 inched under the hopper. My question is how is the best way to cast this setup. I probably get no more than 25% of my casts to actually end up not tangled. I'm fishing this setup on an 8-1/2 ft 5wt. Any advice? I'd love to hear how you folks cast something like this (more than 10 ft anyway ). Thanks in advance.

Ken

[ausable_ny]

Thanks for the help guys. I really don't want to shorten the dropper too much as I like that nymph down as deep as I can get it. I'll try opening up the loop and see how that works. All the time I spent tightening up my loop was in vain ....I'll make a conscious effort to slow down a bit and open em up. I like using foam hoppers or even a chernobyl ant as indicators, especially when the wind is up...I usually end up catching as many fish on the hopper/ant as I do on the dropper. I'll give your guys advice a try and I'll let you know how I make out. Thanks again.

Ken

[JohnScott]

Pretty much what Bob said. Slow it down, open it up, kind of lob it out there. To top it off, I like to really drop the rod tip at the end of the forward cast. That helps me accentuate the whole slow down, open up, lob it feeling to the cast.

John

OR you can go up to a really fast action 7 wt and throw tight loops with big weighted stonefly nymphs ( 2 ) under an indicator.