Author Topic: Dry Dropper (Low Water) (Read 241 times)

Bill Steudler · « **on:** July 27, 2010, 03:36:04 PM »

I have been fishing a lot of dry dropper on Spring Creek and Fishing Creek lately due to the extreme low flows. The streams are full of spooky wild browns that you cannot get close enough to euro nymph. There are exceptions, the heavier runs are still approachable. But the "B" water is almost impossible to fish. Most of the "B" water is anywhere from 4-10 inches deep currently. You can see fish holding in it. I am struggling to find a way to fish within the competitions rules and not constantly snag my nymph on the bottom. The 50 cm rule between flies is killing me. I am still catching fish. But not as many as I would like too. I am not sure if the answer is to be more accurate with my casting or to fish smaller and lighter nymphs.(Which I have tried) If anyone has an answer that would comply with competition legal rules I would love to hear it.

Loren Williams · « **Reply #1 on:** July 27, 2010, 03:56:03 PM »

FLOAT the CURLY!!!!! I still too many guys getting connotative about "Euro Techniques" as if there were some kind of rules or something.

Single small light or unweighted nymph on a long cast, sometimes (or often) using fly line.

Or...throw a bettle

Aaron Laing · « **Reply #2 on:** July 27, 2010, 04:13:09 PM »

It would depend on water speed and surface conditions.

If you've got moving waters with a little riffle, get rid of the dry and fish a team of slightly greased soft-hackles upstream or up and and across. Largest fly on top dropper, smallest on bottom. Stay in touch with the flies the moment they drop. I would probably get rid of the sighter, but it's your call. Use as short a leader as you can get away with, but if they're spooky go long and fine.

If you've got no surface chop but still some movement, keep the dry on top and add a lightly greased soft-hackle in the middle and then a small wire-weighted soft hackle on point. You get nice depth presentation with this sort of rig.

If you're really wedded to the nymph, try a washing line--i.e. dry on top, nymph on middle, and a high floating dry on point. By adjusting the distance between the flies and the length of the dropper you can fish water 4" deep... if you can control the drag.

There's lots of ways to skin the cat, but water speed is the most important variable in the mix.

Aaron

Todd Oishi · « **Reply #3 on:** July 27, 2010, 04:16:19 PM »

Or... you could simply reposition your nymph onto the dropper tag and place a buoyant (dry) fly on the point. This will allow you to suspend the nymph as deep or shallow as you like by simply lengthening or shortening the dropper tag or by raising or lower the tip of the fly rod to control the amount of leader that is being aerialized...

This tactic has worked quite well for me on many occasions and particularly in situations such as that which you have just described.

Aaron Laing · « **Reply #4 on:** July 27, 2010, 04:24:38 PM »

Quote from: Todd Oishi on July 27, 2010, 04:16:19 PM

Or... you could simply reposition your nymph onto the dropper tag and place a buoyant (dry) fly on the point.

Minimalist!

Todd Oishi · « **Reply #5 on:** July 27, 2010, 04:28:55 PM »

That's my middle name!

Bill Steudler · « **Reply #6 on:** July 27, 2010, 05:46:24 PM »

Quote from: Todd Oishi on July 27, 2010, 04:16:19 PM

Or... you could simply reposition your nymph onto the dropper tag and place a buoyant (dry) fly on the point. This will allow you to suspend the nymph as deep or shallow as you like by simply lengthening or shortening the dropper tag or by raising or lower the tip of the fly rod to control the amount of leader that is being aerialized...

This tactic has worked quite well for me on many occasions and particularly in situations such as that which you have just described.

Todd,

I understand what you mean with rigging it up. But how do you fish this technique? Currently, I have been trying to keep my line and leader in the same seam as my flies. If I fish with that same idea, how do you detect strikes when your nymph is in front of your dry fly?

Loren,

Looks like I am going to boil some mono this evening.

Thanks guys!

Dejon Hamann · « **Reply #7 on:** July 27, 2010, 05:47:54 PM »

The washing line variations are great suggestions guys. I'll have to try that myself sometime soon.

I've floated the curly with great success in Fisherman's Paradise a few times.

Chris Smorul · « **Reply #8 on:** July 27, 2010, 07:52:35 PM »

Please pardon my ignorance but would somebody please put up a diagram on how to rig the dry droppers.

Dejon Hamann · « **Reply #9 on:** July 27, 2010, 08:00:08 PM »

Switch the dry & nymph for what we're referring to as a "washing line".

Chris Smorul · « **Reply #10 on:** July 27, 2010, 08:03:56 PM »

thanks bro, i was a little confused about whether or not to tie the dry to a tag or inline. I see you can do both.

Tim Long · « **Reply #11 on:** July 27, 2010, 09:08:17 PM »

Loren,

What do you use to float your curly? Mucilin?

Loren Williams · « **Reply #12 on:** July 27, 2010, 10:10:38 PM »

Green can Mucilin certainly helps!

Quote from: Tim Long on July 27, 2010, 09:08:17 PM

Loren,

What do you use to float your curly? Mucilin?

Mark Hanes · « **Reply #13 on:** July 28, 2010, 09:59:06 AM »

Great ideas on this one to everyone. I am partial to the upstream wet fly myself. If you stay low in conditions I have also done decent with micro nymphs in size 18 and smaller. I guess you would call it more of a Spanish nymphing.

Terrestrials are one of the better choices this time of the year and Loren is right about that. Deer hair ants out of the Humphries school of thought are also productive.

Paul Bourcq · « **Reply #14 on:** August 01, 2010, 01:30:03 PM »

A couple years ago at the Olympiad I got some skinny pocket water. I had a dry dropper rig on. I just lifted my dry up out of the water and fished my nymph like i would any other time. The dry was still my strike detection even though it was up out of the water. It works in a pinch.

Mark Ferringer · « **Reply #15 on:** August 02, 2010, 06:26:25 AM »

This is a good thread. I fished a hopper droppper yesterday on a local coldwater stream, and it performed beautifully; whether I had five feet of fluro under it for the deeper slots, or 2 feet for the shallow riffles. I even had two fish come up and crush the hopper, which was sweet. I was using a size 8 hoppindicator, which was a remnant of my last Montana trip. It worked great, even when suspending two tungsten bombs under it.