How many of you use more than one fly?

[ckjacks]

I usually use two flies, wet. But on a recent trip to taneycomo i forgot my strike indicators. So I just tied on a dry and hung the others off the back. Works ok, I get tangled more, so I mostly just drop one off now.

I am in the process of tying a fly that looks like a cigarette butt. I swear every other trip I see some guy throw down his cigarette then in a little bit here comes a trout. I think this would make a good addition to the above.

[rawfish]

I also almost always use two flies when fishing wets...I use any combination of two of the same, a wet and a nymph targeting the same species of insect or two totally different types of patterns.
Depends what bugs I see (if I see any) etc...

[Micropteris]

Lately I have been fishing two to three flies. They are always different colors, sizes, and patterns to see what the fish are taking. Open loops and keeping the largest heaviest fly as the tail fly keep tangles to a minimum. I keep flies about 12-18 inches apart on short 2-3 inch droppers off the main leader. I find it is a good way to determine how deep fish are feeding besides what color or pattern they are taking by which fly they hit. Flies closer to the floating fly line are shallower than the flies at the leader end.

[Silverexpress]

I use to fish with only 1 fly...

It was comprised of a piece of foam in the shape of a tiny cylinder or cube tied to a size 16 hook. I used a green and blue marker to color the foam.

IT WORKED AWESOME....especially on hatchery stocked streams/rivers. Don't really know why trout would fall for it. I actually got the idea from an old guy who taught me how to cast a dry. He one day bit off the filter from his cigarette, rubbed it on the ground to dirty it up, and then he stuck a clean dry fly hook through it. He caught more fish on it that evening then I did with my Adams. I used foam since I don't smoke.

Eventually, I got bored and started buying all sorts of colorful imitations of bugs....because...well....it was neat.

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

ckjacks its the little pssst the lit butt makes when it hits the water. When we were kids we used up a whole pack of my dads ciggys on some 2 pound trout. Its gotta be lit..... no joke.

[NderdaFilm]

Number six hopper or chernobyl ant with a green number 18 caddis on the bend in Late August early September floating the Boise River.

Otherwise I use a chernobyl ant as an indicator when fishing blue wing olives in the winter.

[Ripper]

Well I went out and tried the two fly rig. I used the hopper with a bead head and its funny cause all the action i got was off the bead head... so i was catching fish i wouldn't never have caught... so i say 2 flys are good.

[rawfish]

anybody want to clarify the basic techniques of using more than one fly. Like I said before I usually use more than one but I don't have a good scientific method.
What the basic idea or more than one fly? Are there any rules of thumb?
and Finally, what knot do you use for the dropper?

[PaulM]

I use all sorts of two fly combinations. On the Bighorn, I generally use a scud/sow bug point fly with a midge or mayfly nymph dropper. During the summer, it seems like hopper/dropper. With the dropper being some sort of beadhead nymph pattern. Sometimes I'll use a attractor dry behind the hopper, if I know the fish are keyed to the surface.

About the only time I use a single fly is when I'm streamer fishing.