using a dropper

[Host Ray]

I tie my front fly on and leave a long tag(12"+) and tie my dropper onto that. I have a hard time tying to the bend of a hook.

[Bluegill222]

If it's a popper or other super boyant fly, I'll tie the dropper off the bend of the hook with an improved clinch. With dries that aren't much bigger than the dropper, I'll leave a tag off my tippet knot and tie the dry to that.

[rainbowchaser]

Sometimes it is desirable to create an angle in the leader so that the dropper hangs straight down from the first fly. This can be done by attaching the first fly to the tippet as usual and then tyiing in the dropper line at a ninety degree angle to it on the hook eye of the first fly . This will make a fly hang closer to straight down from a floating fly or cause a small nymph to ride above a heavily weighted one

[EdD]

Yet another way is to run an extra 6-8" of tippet through the eye and past the original fly then using a surgeons' knot (double overhand, or, in my case, a triple overhand) add another piece of tippet, usually the next size down to make casting easier, and attaching the dropper to that. Mind you, I am not a font of wisdom and experience, but it seems to work for me.

Ed

[coughlin]

I tie the dropper to the bend of the attractor hook with an improved clinch. The attractor is usually a super bouyant fly like a humpty or wulff. My droppper is always smaller and usually a GRHE #16 beadhead. The trick for me is to use a 1x thinner diameter for the dropper tippet, this allows it to turn over more smoothly. I almost never have "pile-up" problems. Also, I cast the rig upstream, let the dropper sink some, and then, especially if I see fish flashing around, gently left the lead fly. The rising nymph quite often triggers a hard strike.
Cheers
Coughlin

[CoachBob]

Here are the options:
1. Make a slip loop (Pitzen, Duncan, etc.) and slide the loop over the bend of the hook of the lead fly and tighten. This is the preferred method for popper-droppers because it won't affect the action of the popper. If you do not already tie a pitzen (also called a fisherman's knot) look at wttp://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/bobboese/122208.php because this knot will make your life a whole lot simpler. (BTW, you should also be familiar with the Palomar for general purposes.)
2. Tie the tippet for the trailing fly through the eye for the lead fly. You should use a pitzen or clinch for this and the result will be the lead fly standing out 90 degrees from the tippet. This is good for wet-dropper or dropper-dropper connections because the drift will not be adversly affected. You do not want to use a palomar here because a palomar required that you go through the eye of the hook twice and you won't have enough room.
3. Make a slip loop and slide the loop entirely over the lead fly and up to the line of the leader or tippet to which the lead fly is tied. Tighten the loop onto the line itself. This is not as strong a connection as the other two but a lot of people use it.

[Eight Thumbs]

Hi 3DWE,

Nothing fancy for me. I know I've got other rigging options and exotic knots but I fish what I know. For brim, I usually use a size #10 Gurgle Pop as my float/topwater lure and tie a size #14 brassie, a size #12 minibugger or #12 soft hackle about 18-24 inches from the Gurgle Pop with an improved cinch knot. I generally try to make the link between the GP and the nymph a pound or two lighter than my tippet. Even though I tie all my own flies, I really had losing two flies at one time. This setup is really a KISS situation----why get too technical? 8T

[Normand]

try these methods

[Eight Thumbs]

Well Norm, I think that covers most of the options that I know about anyway. 8T