Instruction on Double Flies? Dry + Nymph?

[brucerducer]

Hi ALL.

Instruction on Double Flies? Dry + Nymph?

(1) Okay, so I finally am convinced to try this, but how do I attach the Dry to the Nymph?

(2) How do I attach the lower Nymph to the Upper?

What Knots, and how to attach? That's what I don't get.

.

 

[chased]

There are several ways to do a double rig. You can tie the first fly on normally with a clinch knot or what ever, then get a piece of tippet around a foot long (give or take) and tie it on to the bend of the hook and tie your second fly to that. What I normally do is tie my first fly on with an improved clinch knot but leave the tag end of the knot about a foot long, then just tie the second fly to that. I'm sure that other people will chime in here as well. I don't think that one way is better than the other, it's all based on personal preference. You could also search youtube and find several videos on how to set up a double rig.


-Chase

 

[gatortransplant]

Hey Bruce, Chase basically covered this one. I often fish with a dry as an indicator and a nymph dropped under it. I have used two methods, both noted by Chase. I USUALLY tie the dry to the end of the tippet as usual (whatever your favored knot is), then improved-clinch a length of tippet to the bend of the dry hook, based on how deep the water is, which you then tie the dropper on to, again using your favored knot. Using the method of tying from the tag end of the original knot is also an option but often leads to losing BOTH flies to a snag, rather than just the dropper.

 

[rccola712]

Here's a visual of how I tie my dry dropper rig, or if I'm using two nymphs just take out the dry. I use all clinch knots.

 

[tbblom]

If I am fishing where there are lots of snags, I step down the tippet size between flies. This prevents losing the whole setup, and allows just breaking off the last fly.
For example 4x to a hopper
5x to a large nymph
6x to a small nymph

Or, 4x to the dry and 5x below for droppers. Small creeks 5x to the dry, 6x to dropper. For lakes/fast water/opaque water I start much larger.

There are arguments against this, some like to nymph with heavier line. For small trout it works great. If you use the same size tippet from top to bottom you never know how many flies you will lose in a snag.

PS improved clinch knot for 2x and smaller.

 

[fredaevans]

+1 here, as noted above. The only thing I do (as a norm) is tie the extra tippet off the eye of the first fly. This has it (first fly) hanging down like the letter "J." Personal opine here only, but a tie off the bend of the first hook means the fish has to push the following leader away to get to the hook.

'Eye to eye' cures that little problem.

 

[marty mcfly]

I started using a two fly rig for the first time last year. I decided to use the method depicted above (tippet tied from the bend of the hook of the dry to the eye of the dropper) because I thought it would be less likely to tangle. I did have very few tangles and it seemed to cast just fine but I did not have much success with it.

I recently began to wonder if tying the tippet to the bend of the hook was spooking fish and whether it would act as a hook guard to prevent a good hook set for the dry fly. I doubt I will use that method again.

But, I know a "dry/dropper" setup is a good idea because on several occasions while nymphing with a styrafoam strike indicator I had fish hit my strike indicator. It did not take me long to wonder why I would use a bobber when I could substitute a meaty parachute pattern dry fly and increase my chances.

So, I think I am going to try tying the dropper off the tag end of my dropper knot and hope it does not tangle as easily as I fear.

 

[nickj]

I fish some sort of dry/dropper almost always, either a dry with a nymph- eg Elk Hair Caddis with a Beadhead Hare's Ear - or a dry with an emerger- eg BWO with an RS2. I tie into the bend of the top fly with an improved clinch knot, it doesn't get in the way of setting the hook... It seems to me that tying the dropper into the eye of the top fly is asking for a tangele and/or an unnatural drift., and tying a second length of 6x into a #20 fly just isn't going to happen for me. Others have their own methods that sound like they work. The length of the dropper tippet depends on what you're trying to do- if you want to bounce a nymph off the bottom in 2 feet of water, 12 inches isn't going to get the job done. Experiment.

 

[comeonavs]

I have yet to master it anywhere but my easy chair. Ive tried tying it on the river but I need more practice. A friend showed me how to tie your dropper off the bend of the hook like normal but use a duncan loop instead of a cinch knot. This allows you (if you have fingernails) to loosen that duncan loop up and pull the dropper off. My friend has a magnetic fly holder on his hip pack and he will tie up 6 or 8 dropper rigs before he goes out. They all hang there with 12-18" of tippet. All he has to do is loosen duncan loop, slip new one on, cinch up and go.

It also save time when undoing a wind knot.