Dry/Dropper

J

Jim Parks

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Sep 22, 2025
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Mostly fish White Clay Creek in DE, sometimes a few other SE PA streams like Tully, Little Lehigh, etc. Over the last few years have been using dry/dropper as my go to rig when there is no obvious action on top or not sure what to use. Typically a CDC caddis emerger (14 or 16) as the dry and a small zebra midge with bead (usually 16-18, sometimes 20) as the dropper. Seems to work reasonably well in all the places I have fished. Only issue is the CDC caddis not super buoyant, have to change periodically and I usually tie the dropper off the shank so it's a pain. Was looking through my box for something more "bushy" and settled on a #14 stimulator. Floats like a cork but seems not as effective. No stats to back it up, just seems like the technique not doing as well in spots I have had success before. Thinking maybe the top fly is a little too visible? Anyone else find this to be the case? Any other suggestions for good buoyant but still biologically plausible dries as the top fly for SE PA streams?
 
I find some variation on a neversink caddis to be good. Basically a deer hair wing caddis with no hackle but with some sort of synthetic floating poly(ish) underwing. You can tie different ways depending on how much poly you want to stuff in there. I think it starts to look less natural and be less effective as a dry the more you do but of course it will float more weight. So I usually tie up a few in different configurations.

 
Shawn_H said:
I find some variation on a neversink caddis to be good. Basically a deer hair wing caddis with no hackle but with some sort of synthetic floating poly(ish) underwing. You can tie different ways depending on how much poly you want to stuff in there. I think it starts to look less natural and be less effective as a dry the more you do but of course it will float more weight. So I usually tie up a few in different configurations.

Click to expand...
Literally just ordered one of these yesterday - not the exact one, but a similar version/concept. Excited to check it out.
 
Stimulator is my go-to top fly on small streams until late in the year when fish start reacting to a plop, at which point I switch to foam. Haven't had any experiences with it being too large and spooking fish off the nymph, but my very unscientific opinion is that the stimmy itself starts to get a lot more attention as days get warmer and the woods are filled with all sorts of moths and such.

I don't know what daytime temps are like down there, but, where I am, the days are occasionally still could as balls. Don't give up on the stimmy entirely.
 
Last edited:
Shawn_H said:
I find some variation on a neversink caddis to be good. Basically a deer hair wing caddis with no hackle but with some sort of synthetic floating poly(ish) underwing. You can tie different ways depending on how much poly you want to stuff in there. I think it starts to look less natural and be less effective as a dry the more you do but of course it will float more weight. So I usually tie up a few in different configurations.

Click to expand...
This guy is an amazing tyer. Very hard to understand.
 
dudemanspecial said:
Yeah it took me a few years of back and forth watching him before I finally just committed to sticking out a whole video at a time. After a while I started understanding him more and more. It's worth it, guy is full of knowledge.
Click to expand...
He is the best IMO - and yes if you watch enough you start to understand it pretty easily. Or watch all the seasons of Peaky Blinders - that will get you there too.
 
Lots of hackle for me. In larger sizes (10's and 12's), I tie these with green or orange bodies.

PXL_20260514_230003649~2.jpg


PXL_20260514_230045305~2.jpg
 
Jim Parks said:
Mostly fish White Clay Creek in DE, sometimes a few other SE PA streams like Tully, Little Lehigh, etc. Over the last few years have been using dry/dropper as my go to rig when there is no obvious action on top or not sure what to use. Typically a CDC caddis emerger (14 or 16) as the dry and a small zebra midge with bead (usually 16-18, sometimes 20) as the dropper. Seems to work reasonably well in all the places I have fished. Only issue is the CDC caddis not super buoyant, have to change periodically and I usually tie the dropper off the shank so it's a pain. Was looking through my box for something more "bushy" and settled on a #14 stimulator. Floats like a cork but seems not as effective. No stats to back it up, just seems like the technique not doing as well in spots I have had success before. Thinking maybe the top fly is a little too visible? Anyone else find this to be the case? Any other suggestions for good buoyant but still biologically plausible dries as the top fly for SE PA streams?
Click to expand...
If your fly tyer try substituting snowshoe rabbit for the CDC.
 
hooker-of-men said:
Stimulator is my go-to top fly on small streams until late in the year when fish start reacting to a plop, at which point I switch to foam. Haven't had any experiences with it being too large and spooking fish off the nymph, but my very unscientific opinion is that the stimmy itself starts to get a lot more attention as days get warmer and the woods are filled with all sorts of moths and such.

I don't know what daytime temps are like down there, but, where I am, the days are occasionally still could as balls. Don't give up on the stimmy entirely.
Click to expand...
Dear hooker,

A Stimmie or a Humpy both work for me. I don't use them smaller than size 14 and sometimes go to a size 8 depending on what I have on the dropper.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
 
Also a fan of the Humpy. Sometimes natural body colors, sometimes bright stuff like yellow.
 
hooker-of-men said:
Stimulator is my go-to top fly on small streams until late in the year when fish start reacting to a plop, at which point I switch to foam. Haven't had any experiences with it being too large and spooking fish off the nymph, but my very unscientific opinion is that the stimmy itself starts to get a lot more attention as days get warmer and the woods are filled with all sorts of moths and such.

I don't know what daytime temps are like down there, but, where I am, the days are occasionally still could as balls. Don't give up on the stimmy entirely.
Click to expand...

I now feel confident saying stimulator season is upon us here here in NY.

Leftover from my last outing, I had a stimmy on top and a little stonefly on bottom when I stopped at a stocked stream on my way home this afternoon. In a window of about 30 mins, the nymph got 1 eat and the stimulator got 4 aggressive kamikaze eats from 12"-14" browns (I lost one of the fish). The fish weren't even rising; the stimulator was mostly intended as a bobber, but they wanted it bad. This would not have been the case on May 13th.

Stimmy season!
 
I've been messing around with foam a lot because it's tough to beat for buoyancy. Generally buggy caddis/stimmy-like patterns like these are hard to sink and aren't totally unrealistic.

OIP.webp
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I've been tying those foam caddis for years. They do work great. Nice ties.
 
I need to keep experimenting. Tried a few foamies on a recent trip to the Smokies, but wasn't having much luck. The fishing was hard there no matter what though so it may have had nothing to do with the fly.
 
I also have been using foam on my caddis for a long time, but I use cylindrical foam on a traditional Elk Wing Caddis (EWC) with palmered hackle. I call mine "Foamies" too.

I typically tie them in size 16. I use 1/8' diameter cylindrical foam that I cut just shy of the length of the hook shank. Then VERY carefully using a razor blade, I make a lengthwise slit HALFWAY though the diameter of the foam.

I slip the foam slit over the hook shank and secure it with some NOT super tight thread wraps and the palmered hackle and that's the body. I guess some super glue on the shank might help, but I don't bother. The rest of the fly is finished off like a regular EWC.

The secret is not too many tight securing wraps or winds of hackle which compresses the foam and makes it less buoyant. If you get it right, they cast great, land lightly and float like cork for many casts and fish.

Foamie EWC are my go-to broken water prospecting flies and my first choice for a dry & dropper combo. A Humpy is my 2nd choice, however I tie mine with a strip of foam instead of elk or deer hair.

My #1 dropper choice is a size 16 or 18 Starling & Purple soft hackle I tie with body made from 34 gauge purple colored wire instead of thread. The wire adds a little weight which gets the fly down and it gives it a little flash.

My 2nd choice is a Partridge & Peacock soft hackle in a size 16.
 
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