Dropper Rigs For Fly Fishing

[Brian K. Shaffer]

dgames wrote - " When using 2 flies, I also usually go 1x smaller for the 'between flies' tippet than I use to the top fly. For example, if I am using 6x to the top fly, I go 7x for the dropper. This way I only lose 1 fly if I hang the bottom fly and I feel it also provides less drag on the top fly. "

Excellent advice. Exactly what I do - unless the waters running. Then I use same size.

[dgames]

I could probably pull it off on the waters I fish IF I considered the lead fly as simply "weight" and fished the tailing fly to targets. Anything that per chance took the lead fly after the drift / on the swing would be a bonus I suppose. But flys designed for a good swing are generally not good sinkers.

I dunno, the technique just does not act friendly in the types of rivers I fish mostly.

I sometimes use 2 flies to try to figure out what is working. A couple of weeks ago I was fishing the tenkiller tailwater with a beadhead scud on top and a zebra midge as the dropper. In this case, the scud was outfishing the zebra about 5 to 1 where we switched to just a single scud. If I had started with one fly it probably would have been the zebra midge and wouldn't have figured things out nearly as fast.

[fishinwrench]

Fine then. We agree that you disagree with two fly setups.

Still no reason to kill others confidence.

The only thing I disagree with is the notion that you generally increase your catch rate by always fishing a dropper. Obviously it is a technique for a few specific conditions...not all, by any means.

Those that have built up confidence in it have my respect, because I can not pull it off sucessfully myself. On even and steady flows it wouldn't pose the problems I worry about. But if that trailing fly gets sucked into an opposing seam that lead fly is gonna do some pretty crazy (out of control) stuff down there. Alot of that is probably just my personal fishing style, my usual approach is more like shooting at specific targets within the flow, rather than combing the water column for a bite. I look at the water, decide where I think a fish might be, and attempt to put a fly right in his face. The addition of a dropper kills the control I need to be able to do that consistently.

I know B.Wise fishes droppers on NFOW quite a bit....and frankly I don't see how he pulls it off as well as he does, because many holding areas of that river are extremely technical by my standards.

[Brian K. Shaffer]

fishinwrench wrote : "Obviously it is a technique for a few specific conditions...not all, by any means. "

Not correct, its a technique for any water ... really.

Low, high.. swift, slow.... anytime.

[ohmz138]

fishinwrench wrote : "Obviously it is a technique for a few specific conditions...not all, by any means. "

Not correct, its a technique for any water ... really.

Low, high.. swift, slow.... anytime.

I agree, dropper rigs are very useful if fished right. You should be able to drop those flies in the right spot regardless of the situation. It is more challenging to do though.. but it can be done.

[Thom]

Just an observation:

I often fish new waters in other states and in doing so always hire a guidefirst time out.

Without fail they always have tied on droppers. Attractor fly on top and smaller fly under. These guys make their living via word of mouth and by putting folks on fish. True there is usually a particular fly that is more successful but it varies from top one to dropper. I do agree however that the lower fly is the one that I catch the most fish on. I usually put the fly that I have the most confidence in on bottom though.

Some days especilly on Taney which I consider my home water as I discover that fish are midging I go to only one fly becuase under those conditions the strikes come quickly and the target is obvious. Small jigs also sometimes present the same opportunity when the conditions are predictible and I will tie on only what is or has been working and when it slows up change to the next best choice.

When fishing with a partner we usuually start with two droppers all different to cut down time to see what is on the menu.

I noticed that the recent guide that I used on taney did the same when I treated my grandson to a guided trip last summer. He also called another guide from the same shop checking what they were using .... both droppers.

Not to say that some times it is not the best way but lots of sucessul folks I know fish that way and I try to learn by trial and error.

To answer the thread questions posed:

My choices for dropper rigs are peach or orange egg with a red dot on it for the top or bright san jaun on top for dropper and small zebra blk/silver wire or copper tungsten midge rusty brown with constrasting wire. Purple and plum later in the day on bottom. Almost always deadly combo with a one unit or less or in the seams if more water flowing.

Thom

[MaxDrown]

Al, I like your approach and plan to try it next time I'm out. Can you give some detail on the leader and tippet sizes? Could you also add a little detail on how much weight to add and why?

[fiveweight]

I use dropper rigs when I'm not catching anything and need to search through a few patterns. If I catch a fish on one of the flies I usually switch to a single of that fly because I spend way too much time fiddling with my rig and not enough time drifting water when using two. I also try to go by the same rule as most others - heavier fly on top and size down the tippet to the lower fly because it's usually smaller. When the fish are biting what I'm throwing, there is no need to use a two fly combo, the dropper does indeed hamper the first fly's presentation. I find that the way to throw two flies is to cast a bit shorter and slow it down and really use a larger movement more from the shoulder while keeping the elbow more in a locked position, this keeps the loop more open for me at least though it might not be proper "form". Maybe I can just get away with sloppier casting with a single fly.