The Joy of Dropper Rigs

I almost never fish with just a single fly. Most of the time, I’m using a tandem rig, with a second (“dropper”) fly tied off of the first fly. Such a rig allows you to fish two different flies at once, essentially doubling your chances of catching a fish. There are a whole host of effective ways to set up a tandem rig. In fact, an entire book has been written on the subject, Charles Meck’s “Fishing Tandem Flies.” The most common dropper rig is two nymphs fished in tandem, but you can tie a nymph dropper off of a high-floating dry fly (e.g., the classic hopper-dropper rig), fish two dry flies together, or even strip a pair of streamers.

The most typical method of setting up a dropper rig is to simply tie a length of tippet material to the bend of the hook of the first fly, then tie the dropper fly to the other end of the tippet material. That’s the technique illustrated in the short video below. It’s the second in our series of “Streamside Tips & Techniques” videos.

We’re planning on doing a bunch more of these videos, aimed at both beginners and more advanced anglers. But we need your input. What topics would you like to see us cover? Please leave us a comment or shoot us an email.