Loon rigging foam...

[ryc72]

Has anyone used loon's rigging foam to keep rigs? If so I need some advice. I'd like to pin the flies in the foam first and then wrap the tippet around the flies and the foam. This leaves me with an issue, how do I anchor the free tippet? I guess I could wrap the tippet first and then anchor the files in the foam but I'm worried about knocking the flies loose and snagging something or losing the rig. Any tips? Thanks in advance.

 

[PennKev]

I think the idea behind them is for holding two-fly rigs like dry and dropper when you are often switching back and forth between rigs, not so much for storing flies on pre-tied tippet.

However, I think you could wrap a rubber band around them and tuck the free end of the tippet under the band if you wanted to store single flies w/tippet.

Kev

 

[afishinado]

This is what you are looking for (from Smith Creek):


http://www.smithcreek.co/rig-keeper.php

 

[ryc72]

Thanks Kev. I did think of using a rubber band. The problem with the rubber band is if they are stacked up on a tippet holder then the rubber band is tough to manage. You do bring up a good point tho, I could just have the two flies connected without tippet on the top fly and then attach tippet to that when I am rigging. That would take care of the loose tippet.

I have the smith creek rig keeper and it works great for single fly rigs but I found it to be a little unwieldy with two fly rigs. So I mainly use that for single droppers and dry flies. I also have the orvis rig keeper too for two fly rigs which is great but not easy to use on the water. It's great if you have a back pack and you are working from land but I don't recommend using it standing in the middle of the river.

I'm just trying to optimize my fishing time as my knot tying isn't so great and with the weather getting colder I need to have as many knots pre tied as possible!

 

[afishinado]

ryc72 wrote:
Thanks Kev. I did think of using a rubber band. The problem with the rubber band is if they are stacked up on a tippet holder then the rubber band is tough to manage. You do bring up a good point tho, I could just have the two flies connected without tippet on the top fly and then attach tippet to that when I am rigging. That would take care of the loose tippet.

I have the smith creek rig keeper and it works great for single fly rigs but I found it to be a little unwieldy with two fly rigs. So I mainly use that for single droppers and dry flies. I also have the orvis rig keeper too for two fly rigs which is great but not easy to use on the water. It's great if you have a back pack and you are working from land but I don't recommend using it standing in the middle of the river.

I'm just trying to optimize my fishing time as my knot tying isn't so great and with the weather getting colder I need to have as many knots pre tied as possible!

I fish droppers all time. I've tried the rigs above and really don't find them very useful for all the reasons you stated above. I've even tried pre-tying my tippet with droppers, and keeping it on a spool. All that fussing with pre-tied tippets and messing with rig-keepers took longer than just retying.

In the end, I've found it easiest just to tie my dropper using the lower tag end of a double surgeons knot (simple overhand knot 3x thru). Keep the tag about 4" in length, which is long enough to make a few fly changes. When the tag becomes too short to tie on another fly, it's time to clip off and retie. Knots weaken, and retying is a good thing to do anyway.

For dry droppers, depending on how the fly rides, I'll tie a dropper on the bend of the dry using a slip loop, or leave a long tag end on my clinch knot for flies that ride better attached to the hook eye.

Hope that helps.

 

[MathFish]

I've never used the loon rigging foam. It seems like it would be nice for having a few pre-rigged tandems in a vest pocket, but I see how it could be a problem for a loose tippet end. You might be able to use a sharp razor blade and cut a couple notches perpendicular to the circumference of the edge to be able to tuck the loose tippet into - kind of like how most thread spools have a cut in them to keep the thread from unwinding.

Before I became able to tie my knots efficiently, I used to carry pre-rigged tandems in my chest pack. I bought some thick craft foam, cut it to fit into a plastic pencil case and I used a razor to cut notches into the foam edges to keep the rigs secure. The notches will hold loose tippet, I did use this setup to hold pieces of tippet.

I'm attaching a photo so you can see the setup. If you have any questions about it, let me know.

I will say that this setup does work and saved me a lot of time from tying knots and allowed me to keep a line in the water way more than I was able to without it.

 

[ryc72]

mathfish, those are awesome. Something to think about. Since I already have the foam things creating a couple of slits is a good idea. Thank you.

And afishinado, you're right. Ultimately I just need to get better at knots. Although I've come to like the pre rigging routine. It gives me something to do a couple of nites before I get on the water.

Thanks for your help guys!