dropper fly rig

"Larry L" wrote:
On my recent trip to Idaho I fished a tiny nymph under a dry, some
each day,
as the fish were obviously taking baetis nymphs not the duns or
emergers.

Like most of us I've used this technique a lot to good success, but
unlike
those of you that actually know what you are doing, I'm not sure how
best to
attach the dropper nymph. I've always just used a clinch knot around
the
bend of the hook

This trip I had several breaks offs, with small fish at that, where
the
break occurred at the cinch knot on the bend. .... ANYway, what do
you real
nympher guys use in the way of knots for dropper rigs? In the wind,
with
cold fingers, and weak eyesight knots are proving to be a steady
source of
frustration for me :-( and I need to improve my knotting skills


I prefer the trilene knot to the clinch knot, it's a bit easier to tie,
and it puts two wraps around the hook so it's less likely to slip.
I've had this breakoff problem mostly when I catch a fish on the upper
fly and don't check the knot at the bend of the hook. The first fish
has been beating up that knot, and the second one takes advantage. For
a while I tied a uni knot above the top fly and thus kept the knot out
of the fish's mouth, but breakoffs often took two flies that way.
Lately I've been back to the trilene knot.

Now that I think about it, I was using 4 or 5 turns in the uni then,
and I've found 6 makes for a stronger knot. Maybe I should try that
again? One advantage of the uni knot is that you can slide it up the
leader and change the upper fly without also retying the lower one.

Chas
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