Which fly goes where?

[a23fish]

A response on one of the other posts made me wonder about whether the heavier fly should go on top (closer to the rod) or bottom (at the very end of the line) when tossing a two fly rig. Most of the posts, articles, and videos I've seen say to put the heavier fly closer to the rod and the lighter fly farthest away. If trout are mostly hanging around near the bottom, why not put the heavier fly at the end of the line and get the whole rig closer to them? Would it make any difference if you were fishing it tight-line Czech-nymphing style or fishing the tandem rig under an indicator?

So far, as a relative beginner, I've only followed the heavier fly on top approach but I'm going to try the opposite next time I use that method, just to see. What has been your experience?

 

[dudemanspecial]

There are literally chapters in books addressing this subject. I tend to prefer weight on the bottom, but sometimes tying a weightless fly to the hook bend of a weighted fly saves the day. Sometimes i put split shot between 2 weightless flys (this is my shallow water tactic). The bottom line is, it depends.

 

[Tigereye]

Agree, it depends. Personally I use a drop shot rig the majority of the time and an actual weight ie sinker is at the end of the line. It is always the heaviest object on the rig and tied off the eye of the point fly. Because the sinker keeps every thing in line and tight, there really is no need to weight the fly. Additionally, the dropper is usually a smaller nymph or wet fly/ soft hackle. If it were weighted it would hinder its movement.

If I'm euro or tight lining, a weighted fly is on the point and is always the heavier of the 2. As per George Daniel's, this keeps you in contact with the whole rig at all times.

I imagine there are special occasions when this philosophy could or should be modified but they are far and few.

 

[moon1284]

The dry fly gets tied to the end of your tippet.