Tying On A Dropper

[fadeaway263]

I'm new to fishing a dropper. [after 30 years you'd think I would have tried this earlier Is the prefered method tying it around the hook bend? I simply tie the 1st fly with a blood knot and leave a long tag line and tie the 2nd fly on the end of the tag. Is this an improper way to do it?

 

[afishinado]

fadeaway263 wrote:
I'm new to fishing a dropper. [after 30 years you'd think I would have tried this earlier Is the prefered method tying it around the hook bend? [color=FF0000]I simply tie the 1st fly with a blood knot and leave a long tag line and tie the 2nd fly on the end of the tag. [/color]Is this an improper way to do it?

After 30 years................you learned somethin'. ;-)

That's a great way to tie a two (or three) fly rig.

link to diagram source: http://stevenojai.tripod.com/nymph.htm

 

[Fishidiot]

You can tie the second fly onto the first at either end of the first fly. Generally, if I'm fishing nymphs dead drift I'll tie the second on to the eye. With a "hopper dropper" or some similar set-up where the first fly is a floater, I'll usually tie to the bend as many dry flies (eg a Stimulator or foam hopper) have more bouyancy in the middle and rear sections of the fly and by tying to the bend it sometimes allows the lead fly to float a bit better. If you're fishing wets or streamers that will be pulled through the current you'll want to tie to the bend so the lead fly pulls straight rather than kinked at an angle. Experiment a bit and you'll get a feef for which is easier and more workable for different situations.

 

[fadeaway263]

Thanks fish.

 

[Harpua]

Wow, I can't imagine the twisted, knotted mess that I would make if I rigged up like that diagram.

 

[afishinado]

Harpua wrote:
Wow, I can't imagine the twisted, knotted mess that I would make if I rigged up like that diagram.

Untangling it gives you something to do in between hatches......

 

[greenlander]

Harpua wrote:
Wow, I can't imagine the twisted, knotted mess that I would make if I rigged up like that diagram.

Or how much profanity I'd spout while rigging it.

 

[Tups]

I use a 10.5' leader for a 3 wet fly rig based on George Harvey's earlier formula. It goes like this:

.017 = 10"
.015 = 20"
.013 = 20"
.011 = 20" with a loop at the end for attaching dropper #1 and the next leader section
.009 = 12"
.008 = 18" with a loop at end for attaching dropper #2 and the tippet section
.007 = 28" tippet

I usually fish 3 wet flies on this rig. Typically my point fly is a partridge and orange or a GRHE; dropper #2 is a grouse and green or an iron blue; and dropper #1 is invariably a Welsh Partridge. It works best with a long rod, a light line and an open casting stroke. I fish a 10 foot 4 wt Cortland rod which I overload with a DT5F line just to slow everything down a bit. The key to minimizing tangles is to keep your dropper tags very short - no more than 3 inches long. Tobacco helps too.

 

[trowpa]

greenlander wrote:

Harpua wrote:
Wow, I can't imagine the twisted, knotted mess that I would make if I rigged up like that diagram.

Or how much profanity I'd spout while rigging it.

No kidding - my frustration goes up enough just adding a second split shot... I like to keep my fishing as simple and relaxing as possible..i tried 2 fly rigs for a while, switched back to one fly - haven't noticed a difference in catch rate, but i HAVE noticed I am more serene 🙂

If i fished with 3 flies, i'd have a heart attack before 40. But some do it quite successfully. To each their own....

 

[Squaretail]

When I cant tartget fish and am basically searching, I'll use multiple flies to more or less "sweep the stream". A midge dropper off a dry has also invaded my schemes with some success. However, its almost not worth it as it seems many times when one fly is drifting perfectly, the other is not, and you're basically fishing with one fly anyway.
I try to keep it singular.

 

[Tups]

Squaretail: I agree that if you are tying one fly to the bend or eye of another fly, you are "basically fishing with one fly anyway." You are not fishing a dropper per se but rather a tandem fly, in which case the two flies fish in-line and directly effect one another's drift. Such a set-up is sort of like a Frankenstein wiggle nymph with two hooks separated by a length of mono. Naturally, if one of the flies is drifting poorly, then so is the other. This is not the case with traditional droppers suspended from the leader. In this case, the droppers drift and dance somewhat indifferently from the point fly, increasing the attractiveness and efficiency of the rig. Our grandfathers understood this essential nature of wet-fly casts. However, I believe that our modern chalkstream dry fly code has so entirely supplanted wet-fly theory that we have recently had to "invent" the modern dry-dropper tandem rig in order to adapt the dry fly code to the ancient wisdom of fishing multiple flies.

 

[greenlander]

Tups wrote:
Squaretail: I agree that if you are tying one fly to the bend or eye of another fly, you are "basically fishing with one fly anyway." You are not fishing a dropper per se but rather a tandem fly, in which case the two flies fish in-line and directly effect one another's drift. Such a set-up is sort of like a Frankenstein wiggle nymph with two hooks separated by a length of mono. Naturally, if one of the flies is drifting poorly, then so is the other. This is not the case with traditional droppers suspended from the leader.

I'd argue that, regardless of the rig, if any fly is drifting poorly, then both are. Reason being that it is drag in the fly line/leader that introduces poor drift to the fly (or flies), not the other way around. If the line isn't drifting properly, no flies attached to that line are going to drift properly, regardless of how you've rigged them up.

Sure, certain rigs might buy you a few extra seconds before drag hits, but still ....

 

[Tups]

Greenlander: Nowadays "drifting poorly" means dragging, which is largely a modern dry fly concept, somewhat alien to wet fly theory. Two flies tied to one another will invariably act in tandem so that if the point fly is dragging across the current, then the "dropper" is acting identically, thereby exaggerating the negative aspects of drag. With a traditional dropper set-up, although the point fly may be dragging across current, the droppers can be danced off the main line by simply moving your rod tip with a gentle trembling motion. In this case, the point fly acts as an anchor allowing you to control the motions of the droppers. It is surprising how effective this technique can be. It does requires at least moderate current speed to pull it off. The only time a wet-fly rig can be described as fishing poorly is when the angler has lost touch with his team of flies, thereby preventing his ability to control their movements. In other words, drag is not always a bad word when fishing wet flies.

 

[greenlander]

Tups: totally agreed. For some reason I was thinking entirely in terms of dead-drift nymphing. For wets, I see your point just fine.

 

[Tups]

Greenlander: Like nymphs, wet flies, particularly hackle flies, can also be very effective fished dead-drift, especially in slower pools. They are quite versatile.

 

[GreenMan]

Loren Williams goes in depth about droppers on his website... It is some really great stuff... Here's the link...
http://www.flyguysoutfitting.com/droppers.html