Fishing with a Nymph/Chrom below a Dry Fly
 

How effective is this method of fly fishing?

What do you prefer? What conditions do you fish with this type of setup? ie: Time of the Year, body of water, Type of Set up?

Input would be greatly appreciated.

This is a very effective method of presenting a nymph or chironomid using a dry fly as a strike indicator. It is often called a hopper-dropper rig because many people use a big grasshopper pattern as the strike indicator. Google "hopper dropper" and read all about it. This article by Bill is a good sample: http://social.thefishinhole.com/inde...&articleId=311

The advantages of it are that you are drifting your nymph at a specified depth (the length of tippet between your dry and the nymph is the maximum depth); and your indicator has a hook in it that can also catch a fish.

The disadvantages are that the two flies are prone to tangling up, you can't do it in B.C. :(, and you can't really effectively fish the dropper more than 4 or 5 feet deep.

Its also very close to spin casting with a bobber and a nymph underneath it.
It aint pretty and I have always wondered why bother with the fly rod ?

i use this combo mostly an hour or so before sunset, works well on the bow river

I fish hopper/dropper quite a bit on creeks. I fished last Friday. In the morning, most fish were eating the nymph...

http://imageshack.us/a/img89/9755/mz5c.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img546/5229/5lwd.jpg

As it warmed up, the fish started looking up & hitting the hopper...

http://imageshack.us/a/img19/3355/i5sp.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img21/3608/0hcu.jpg

See, this is where it's different than spin casting with a bobber with a nymph under it; I wouldn't have caught this beautiful 22" brown trout on a bobber...

http://imageshack.us/a/img22/2166/i76c.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img837/2861/2n2y.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img38/7964/b6vu.jpg


By the way... once the fish start hitting the hopper more than the dropper, I'll often get rid of the nymph. Usually, I'll replace it with a smaller dry, like a beetle or a Parachute Adams. Y'know, 'cuz I really enjoy losing at least 2 flies at a time...:sign0176:

Wow, great responses and thanks for the tips.
I'll try this today and let you know how I do

I used to wonder the same thing. Maybe it is now that I am older and wiser, but I catch way more fish with the fly rod. The reasons:
1. Better control when you actually catch the fish.
2. Way more accurate casting. While casting an indicator set up is ugly (compared to casting a dry), I can still get my indicator to land exactly where I want 9/10 times.

I Live in the crowsnest and have a place on the river, been flyfishing for 35 yrs. If Your weak on the entomology and not quite sure what they are eating I guess fishing with multiple hooks will increase your odds.

Tried the hopper dropper method today on fish creek and caught a brook trout. He went for the grasshopper :sHa_shakeshout:

:happy0180:

Bob

That hopper in you picture is my favourite on the bow. Do you find that it lands upside down quite a bit? Or is this just me?

It usually only takes a quick pop to right it, just more annoying than anything else.

J

Yep.
I find that happens with lots of big foam hoppers, especially the ones with bigger indicators on the top. I've had fish hit 'em when they're upside down; stupid fish!!! :)