dropper?
I've never fished with a dropper before, but I'm thinking about giving it a shot. It got me to wondering how many of you guys fish with droppers and what flies to you prefer to use? My first thought is to use a dry for the top fly and a nymph for the second. But what about using a heavier fly on "top" and a lighter fly on "bottom"? Anyway, I was just curious.
hNt
PS, I just thought that with a handle like mine, maybe I shouldn't add another hook to the equation
"If we lie to the government, it's called a felony, when they lie to us, it's called politics." Bill Murray
heres an article that answers your questions
http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/t...ng_double.aspx
The article Normand referenced is good. Charlie Meck wrote a nice book "Fishing Tandem Flies". I like big and Bushy on top with a nymph on the dropper. Stimulators, Wulffs, etc. One of the best is also the "Hopper and Dropper", self explanatory. One overlooked but deadly is a Griffith Gnat with a midge larva on the dropper. Of course these are all dry combos but they work for wets and nymphs also, in fact I don't ever fish just a single nymph much anymore at all.
Thanks Normand! That was exactly what i was looking for.
hNt
"If we lie to the government, it's called a felony, when they lie to us, it's called politics." Bill Murray
Hi hungNtree,
I don't fish dry and nymph very often, but it can be very effective. When I'm fishing spiders, or winged wets, I'll often fish 3 flies, so two droppers. I make my own knotted leaders, so the dropper is formed when you tie the knot (just leave a longish tag end). In small streams, 2 flies is probably enough, but on large rivers 3 flies cover more water. The idea is to cast up and across so that the flies come down covering 2 or 3 separate lines to fish to different fish.
Anyway, I was reading an old book from when gut was still used for the leader, and they would attach a dropper by taking a piece of gut, fold the top over you you have a doubled section and a long end (i.e. like a loop, but not tied). Now, fold the loop over the leader above a knot. Put the two ends through this loop, and if you now held the two loose ends and pulled it would cinch up to the leader. Before doing that, take the shorter length and tie an over hand knot but tie it around the longer length. Pull the over hand knot tight, this "joins" the two lengths, and now work things up to sit snug against the leader. That's probably as clear as mud.
I've not tried this myself, so I don't know how well it will hold with mono. In the book it did mention how the dropper can sometimes ride up the leader, but you can slide it back down to your leader knot if it does that. Since most of the forces would end to push it towards the knot, this shouldn't be too big of a problem, but again, I've not tried it.
Anyway, fishing a team of wets can be very productive and lets you fish a number of different patterns to see what's working, which can be very useful in a situation where there are many different possible food choices, or if you're on unfamiliar water.
One warning though, the tangles one can create with mutliple flies are truly heroic, indeed, they can be Olympian in their stature, worth of high praise to be shouted out to all asunder! I recommend being prepared to cut off the flies to untangle, or to be prepared to simply remove and retie the offending section. It is best to really open the loops really big, tight loops are not your friend in this case. You are going for gentle presentation, not distance.
But, it is a lot of fun.
- Jeff
Am fear a chailleas a chanain caillidh e a shaoghal. -
He who loses his language loses his world.
As long as you don't have to change your handle to hungNear, we won't worry too much about you
If it swims and eats, it'll eat a fly.
When I fish with a dropper it is typically a dry fly like a Royal Wolf or Adams with a nymph down from the dry hook. Fishing is SW Wisconsin early in the month I was getting great action with this set up. The right combination is key when fishing this way as it can be a bit of a challenge to cast in close quarters or a little wind.
Bob
Hi HungNtree I nearly always fish 2 flys, on smaller streams or shallow riffle water I use a dry fly tied on to the end oo my leader then a length of tippet tied to the bend of the dry and a nymph on the end of that. In big water like the Tongariro or when I just need to get deep I replace the dry with a heavy nymph and the rest of the set up is the same (this is called "truck and trailer style" in NZ). I rarely go more than 6ft between dry and nymph but the 2 nymph rig needs to be much shorter, around 12 inches or you will get some mighty tangles.
If I am fishing still water I will fish with droppers tied as Jeff says but in moving water I get less tangles with the traditional Kiwi "truck and trailer" style as above.
All the best.
Mike.
Hey HungNtree,
I think you'll find you love fishing with a dropper. I use it nearly all the time. As others have mentioned, the biggest drawback is turning your line into a bird's nest. To avoid this, slow down your casting stroke to open up your curves. No tight curves on the cast. Slower rods are easier for this. If you cast a strong tight curve you might hear the popping sound of your dropper snapping off!
For your first few outings, you might stay with a maximum of 18" for the dropper. That will still provide a choice for the fish, but limit the hazard of tangles. Also, don't try it for the first time on a windy day. A brisk side wind can be disaster.
And finally, I usually drop the tippet on the dropper down a size. My thinking is if I hang up on a rock or stick, I'd rather lose one fly than two.
Let us know how it goes for you.
Rex
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