Dry-Dropper (Duo/Trio) Rigs

[Alain Barthelemy]

I have been thinking about "suspension" methods (George Daniel term) a lot lately, and thought I might summarize what I have found.

Flies
First off, I have searched high and low for good sighter/indicator dry flies and have been dissatisfied with commercial offerings.  This forced me to learn Roman Moser's Balloon Caddis and the old standard Klinkhammer (above).  I have had difficulties with parachutes for a long time, but finally figured it out!  The key was watching a video from John Tyzak in the UK.  John's advice was priceless and really enhanced the appearance of my flies.  I don't think I should give away the secret since John sells his DVDs commercial (the River Academy Series is excellent).  The colors I chose above seem to give the best contrast.  The cerise/yellow over black saddle really stands out on the water.  This is a size 10 TMC 2487 hook.  The Balloon Caddis is easy to make; simply cut the foam the width of a hook gap and taper it for tying in.  The fancy hooks are neat, but not really needed.  I like the TMC2487 for Klinkhammer styles; it is a light wire and the flies float nicely.  You may also use many of the grub style hooks you already have, such as the Partridge CZF.  I use Amadou or paper towel (Jon Barnes suggestion, but in the UK they call this “kitchen roll”) to dry the flies, and treat them repeatedly with Frog’s Fanny.

Fly Rigging
No one ever talks about how the style of fly affects the amount of weight it can suspend.  Klinkhammers and Balloon Caddis have most of their floatation near the hook eye.  Such a fly performs best in a rig where the weight also hangs from the hook eye (see below).  Many authors advocate the easy "New Zealand" rig off the hook bend, but using that with these flies seems counterproductive since the weight pulls on the rear of the hook.  For an off-the-bend rigging, you are better off using a dry with a palmered hackle body, like a Stimulator-style.

Leader Rigging
Some folks advocate straight mono, but I have had better success with tapered leaders.  Here is the rigging I like in detail.  A Maxima Chameleon/Ultragreen leader in 9ft 1X.  These are hard to find tapered leaders that start out with Chameleon and end with Ultragreen.  You need to shorten them by about 1.5ft on each end, leaving a 6ft tapered leader.  The Chameleon butt transfers power wonderfully to the bushy dry flies.  To the smaller end, tie on a foot of 3X Powerflex.  To the end of that, use a Barrel knot to tie in another short section of 3X, leaving a long tag to tie on the dry.  The Barrel knot gives you a perfect all-the-time perpendicular tag and you need it for a duo rig (in my opinion, other riggings tangle too much, even with a Snitch knot add-on).  To the other end of the 3X tie in an overhand knot.  It is easy to knot your tippet around the overhand knot using a modified Clinch knot.  For tippet, I am using 6, 7 or 8X Stroft ABR.  I always degrease the tippet.  Tippet length should be about 1.5X the depth of water.  Use light flies.  I always tell people “fish heavy, snag heavy,” so stay away from that, think light.

Presentation
Like most methods, you are better off wading closer and high-sticking your rig.  Keep most of the line/leader off the water.  Your dry flies will also float much longer if you remove the weight of the fly line on them by holding it off the water.  The further out you get with the rig, the harder it is to get drag-free drifts and set the hook on a fish.  I use my leader setup with Cortland Peach DT3 and I rig that with the Cognard-style no knot connection.  Clean your fly line every time you use it, it makes a huge difference.  I also treat a couple feet of leader above the dry fly with Mucillin.

Rod
For small-medium streams, I have been using an old Sage 389LL.  This is an awesome, tactical rod.  I am starting to realize that I can look back in time for used rods and find ones that suit my preference for true medium actions.  For larger streams, I am using my Marryat Tactical 10ft 3wt.  I am sure many of the newer Sage products are great too, but I don’t have anything modern.

Competition Implications
Naturally, make sure the leader and rigging conform to comp standards (use a Triple Surgeon’s to join the tippet and the rest of my proposed leader is comp-legal).  You need to ask yourself if such a rig is worthwhile.  No matter what fly you use, you will spend a far amount of time dressing and drying the dry fly; time you may not want to waste during a comp.  The duo rigging is best for large pools when you need to cover water, for long, uniform glides and runs, for stealthy, long-distance work and in pocket water where you can’t wade where you want to.

Hope this helps you improve your catch with dry-dropper rigs.

[Mason Sims]

Nice Alian didn`t know that mush about these rigs until now!!!

[Dejon Hamann]

As always, great breakdown Alain.

Here are a few pics relating:

Post variation:


Buoyancy:

[Roy Greenway Jr]

Thanks Alain nicely put!

[Alain Barthelemy]

Another option, these are size 20 and will suspend a tiny (non-beaded) nymph.  Deadly during olive hatches, try suspending a size 22 PT or smaller flashback.  Useful for very slow water and spooky trout.

[Alain Barthelemy]

and finally, a more classic style and imitative dry-dropper fly Klinkhammer-style

[Chris Puchniak]

Nice thread and pictures guys.

[Alain Barthelemy]

Sorry these related threads are somewhat misplaced.

As a followup to here:
http://troutlegend.com/forum/river-patterns-and-discussion/parachute-(klinkhammer)-details/msg21168/#msg21168

I should add a dropper loop knot is also suitable for the 2X right angle leader portion here:

but it is sometimes hard to keep the loop short.  This is not a competition-legal knot, but works well.  The key to preventing tangles with these rigs is the "T" shape of the heavier leader material.  It always surprises me, but in fast water, fish will readily hit the dry, even on this thick leader (two days ago I caught a 6in wild brookie this way, a really hungry, opportunistic trout).

Finally, in slower water, this is a good pattern when you want a more realistic approach.  This is a size 16 emerging caddis, no specific recipe: