FLYMPH FORUM

As a matter of interest how many religiously dibble the top dropper when the retrieve is nearing competition.
I find this most effective with a Stewart’s style spider.
The hook rate leaves very much to be desired.
Any ideas to improve the rate of rises to hook ups


Gary

Hi Mike thanks for the reply.(Cheers)

I was thinking about .
Increasing hook gape or lengthening the top dropper maybe.
Or maybe just a softer tip on the rod.
Anyone tried power gum in the leader system?
Any advice here would be of interest

The problems are a lot of he fish are only very finely lip hooked and bump off the rod tip or throw the hook soon after hook up.

Nice to have the terminology laid out, Mike.

I used this sort of rig in the Canadian Nationals last year and found it effective for brook trout hanging out behind large boulders in swift current (I called it a Dapping rig, but by your definition it would be a Dibbling rig?). The heavy Czech nymph in the second position helped anchor the leader while the bottom dropper (a lighter and smaller nymph or soft hackle) was left to play in the current.



Aaron

The optimal position of the "anchor" really varied depending on the current speed--this worked for me given the relative grade of the water I was fishing (almost like steps). I must admit I only got a single hit on the point, but had I switched to a small woolly worm (we call them something else over here ) I suspect I would have had more action on the point.

Multi fly rigs were/are still a bit of a novelty for me as we have a single barbless regulation on our waters. I found the ability to use a cast really opened a lot of technical possibilities.

Aaron

Fantastic response.
Thanks GARY

Interesting thread this one.
Some of the points made by Mike here are valid but there is way more to the techniques that utilize the top dropper or for that matter a fly below provided there is a 3rd fly at tail.
Often as not l will utilize first the top dropper and then the second or middle dropper fly before l pick up to recast,which can be deadly if you have the right flies used in combination.
Stillwater and moving water systems do differ as by general rule when fishing stillwaters the angler works they fly back toward him, all be it can be at different angles, and there may well be wind and wave action at given angles, in the case of moving water systems the effect of downstream drift adds further to the arsenal .
Weight to the flies below the top dropper is not always needed, often as not l may well use two droppers way smaller than the top dropper, what l will do is to use the effect of surface tension and drift to enable for me to work the top dropper by whatever means you choose to call it, it amounts to simply creating a attraction to draw the fish to the fly which may also be termed as inducing the fish, for that is what it amounts to at the end of the day.
While l think about it here. If you are fishing a water that only allows a single fly, then the addition of pinched shot below the top dropper fly will enable for you to work the top dropper fly in, out and on the water surface. In other words below this fly is a given length of leader to that the shot is attached.
Bear in mind also that there are numerous options for fly lines out there to present flies at different depths and in different manners.

Further the distance that droppers are spaced and the length of the dropper and the distance from the fly line to the top dropper are very relative also to how you are able to work dropper flies at either close or long range. Nature and type of mono filament used is also a consideration here, is it very supple or not or more of a stiffer springy nature. What type is it FC/CP/ and so on, they differ and so will how the flies will fish in the water column.

There are numerous combinations that one can use, such as a dry fly top dropper such as a Elk hair caddis and below that one or two WWets, this can be a deadly method at times as both the dry has a option to take fish as will the wet flies below.
Simply versatility and acquired skill is at the end of the day the name of the game where fly fishing is concerned if the angler is going to be adept and dealing with most prevailing conditions and situations faced at the time
Years of competition fishing taught me that one.

Above all if there are two primary factors that matter to me over and above choice of flies and how l make up my leader systems it is choice of rod used and fly line. And in my case it is going to be 10 to 11ft and a fly line with a long front taper.
I do not use as such conventional tapered leaders, l build my own to suit the situation l am fishing and how l wish to fish those flies.
It can make a great deal of difference one way or the other.

Hi Mike.

Been a while since l visited Pauls site, so have been out of touch with what has been going on there. If l recall you did post the context of your links here to that site as l do recall reading this before, some good stuff there.
When l moved to the USA l made sure to bring with me my match rods, 12 and 14ft Daiwa. They hard very difficult to obtain here, all be it we can go MO to the UK.

Do you remember the 11ft rods that Walkers produced at one time, l loved those rods, due to a fire in my home l lost those rods, the 4 wt l loved.
I have a great favor to day for the Hardy 11ft 5wt Marksman, not every bodies deal as you know handling long rods takes a little more that 10fts.
Fortunately l have the arm and wrist muscle to deal with long rods for a long day of fishing. Fishing stillwaters for some 40 years did that, as well as tournament casting.


My river the White is a very large river system and holds unreal numbers of huge Brown trout, l mean way over 20lb to 30lb fish, however many fish from 3 to 10 will take the wet fly, once over that size it is more or less down to eating smaller trout, crayfish and sculpins, it is then needed to fish streamers.

Where do you fish in Germany if indeed you do, given the kind of regs they have there. Fished a number of places there myself in the past, cannot remember the name of the place now, it was not far from Belsen, there was a number of private lakes there that contained some awesome Bows and Browns.

Anyway Mike you raised a subject matter within the content that l will start a new thread with.

Davy

Davy

Bruce and walker still make the centry river trout 11ft 3"
4 to 6 wt and the light version 3 to 5 wt to order.

Do they really, l would be very interested to get the 3 /5, do you have a link l can go to for that. Any idea of the cost, and are they the same action as the older versions.

DW

Yes same rod
Take about 1 month to get hold of