Dry Dropper

[Acristickid]

I beleive there are times and places for all tactics.

As the waters start to be come lower and perhaps clearer I believe that the dry dropper becomes a bigger part of my arsenal.

I always used to just tie my dropper right off the eye of my dry and then split it between the eye and bend. Now, I have been using the tag ends to tie the dry.

Question: Is there a method you use? WHY?

Is there a method you would use in one situation and not another?

Big dries seem to work just fine in holding up with the dropper on-certainly a great way to indicator fish.

 

[gfen]

Off the bend.

It helps balance my poorly tied flies by putting more weight to the rear from my heavy-hackle jobs.

Doing them off the eye makes it look funny to me, I've also used double and triple surgeon's loops to tie multiple fly casts, but I'm pretty sure that the loops severely weaken and are apt to snap.

 

[jayL]

I fish swimming nymphs (like isos and drakes) primarily dry/dropper under a dun of the same species. I also like to do the same with sulphur emergers and soft hackles. I figure that it's a good time to fish a dry, and those types of subsurface flies are best fished throughout the water column.

Another system I use is the dry/damp as I call it. I use an elk hair caddis, stonefly, or stimmy with a tiny foam ant dropper. The ant usually sits in the film, and I just look for any type of disturbance around the front fly. Sometimes the takes are so delicate that I feel like I am seeing things.

I also like to fish zebra midges as a dropper under a likely dry fly. They fish best at a foot or two deep for me, so I feel that it's the best way.

Dual dries are standard for me. I see no reason to just fish one.

I tie it off the bend, but occasionally tie it to the eye as well. For nymphs, all droppers are off the eye for me.

I do not use tag ends for attaching flies on "constriction" knots, such as a clinch. It's doomed to failure when you apply pressure. Try tying nymphs off a tag next time and notice how many you lose to the rocks without much of a fight.

More on that and tons of general dropper info:
http://www.flyguysoutfitting.com/droppers.html

 

[tomgamber]

I have always just tied it off the bend as well. I think it keeps everything in line and helps the dry not get pulled under. 2 wets I would tie at an angle though. I fish a dry dropper far more often than I do just a nymph.

 

[Acristickid]

Why not off the dropper? Would that put less weight/ptressure on the dry fly?

 

[tomgamber]

why not "what" off the dropper?

 

[Acristickid]

Did'nt sound like people are tying their dries to the tag ends.

Sounds like striaght off the end of their leaders and then they proceed from there. Where do you use your dry dropper rigs?

 

[jayL]

I see what you're getting at, but I still don't do it. Tying flies to tag ends is a recipe for knot failure, as I stated and linked to above. It just keeps tightening the knot until the mono fails.

A dropper loop on such a rig could be nice.

I fish them when I am covering lots of water of varying depth, or in low flows.

 

[tomgamber]

I don;t like to tie the dropper in front of a floating fly...if the dry sinks it goes head first. I (whether true or not) think its an unnatural presentation. If the trailing nymph tied to the bend happens to pull the dry under a little, its butt first and it'll still stay afloat pretty well and more naturally. Just me.

 

[jayL]

Paul,

Are you suggesting a rig like this?

 

[Acristickid]

Yes, correct.

Seems like the best way to me- better than off the bend. But as noted, people have stated why they would do it differently- that is what I am trying to figure- see if I can be swayed.

 

[jayL]

I'm going to give that a shot next time out. Seems to me that getting a good drift on the dry could be an issue, but I'm curious.

 

[tomgamber]

I guess it would depend on which fly you give priority. In jays image the nymph clearly controls the dries drift. And by tying off the bend the dry will dictate where the nymph will be.

 

[afishinado]

jayL wrote:
I'm going to give that a shot next time out. Seems to me that getting a good drift on the dry could be an issue, but I'm curious.

I often rig up 2 nymphs with a dropper off the main line like in Jay's diagram. Sure as xxxxx I'll see a fish rise in front of me. Out of convenience, I'll nip off my nymph from the dropper, and tie on a dry to cover the riser. I never seem to do very well when fishing a dry like that, maybe it's the drift, I really don't know. I can tell you that mending the dry doesn't work since the end of the tippet is submerged.

Jay, I'm going to experiment more with the rig when the fish are rising to dries and see if the rig works well or not. Maybe we can compare notes.

 

[Acristickid]

Jay- that drift needs some floatant. Ha.

I dont see my rigs sinking that much or creating that much drag.

In the summer there are going to be less hatches, at least during the day- unless it's rainey. heheh

I would use this rig as a prospector- like terrestrial fishing. Double your chances.

 

[greenghost]

I used to tie off the bend. I noticed that there was definitely an increase of missed strikes on the indicator fly. The only thing I could figure was the tippet hanging from the bend must somehow move the indicator fly, even ever so slightly, as the fishes mouth pushes against it. I now tie off the eye of the indicator when possible. Hooking problem went away.

 

[afishinado]

greenghost wrote:
I used to tie off the bend. I noticed that there was definitely an increase of missed strikes on the indicator fly. The only thing I could figure was the tippet hanging from the bend must somehow move the indicator fly, even ever so slightly, as the fishes mouth pushes against it. I now tie off the eye of the indicator when possible. Hooking problem went away.

I noticed the same thing. I nearly always tie my dry fly indy off the eye. Also, when tying off the bend, the line slips down low on the bend and causes the fly to lay sideways on the water - especially parachute dries.

 

[bam]

In Jay's figure, some biostrike at the connection point would make all the difference. It'd take care of the mending issues and act as an indicator for the dropper....

 

[troutslammer]

size 14 elk hair with a dropper to of 4lb fluorocarbon the proper length to where fish are feeding if the water is clear and u are sight fishing , if not a 12" dropper tied to the hook eye off the dry to start with then adjust , i almost always use a midge too for clear water and extremely pressured fish ,the midge is tied with a bd head so it sinks enough to get down but not weight the dry for a unnatural drift , works awesome 90% of the time

 

[osprey]

aFish................Howdy , just got back , been fishing since the jam , on Bobs creek i used a tandem rig for the first time in ages , cause of limited ability to see the small foam ant i was catching them on , i added a bushy foam bodied caddis fly about 16" above the ant , i tied off at the bend and noticed right away that the caddis was flopping over on it's side , that bothered me but didn't matter as i was using the caddis as more of an indicator than food , i must admit i never thought about tying through the eye , i learn something new every time i come on here THANKS aFish , the next time i'm faced with that situation i'll try the eye.