This is our full crew review of dry dropper styles. And it wraps up this Troutbitten Skills Series on dry dropper fishing. Because, as we’ve seen, what seems like a pretty simple thing — just adding a nymph under a dry fly -- actually creates some complex situations. Knowing your intentions, understanding the system and adjusting your rigging makes a big difference . . .

Continue reading Podcast: Roundtable Review and Wrap Up — Dry Dropper Skills Series #5 at Troutbitten.

With tight line dry dropper, we get the contact and control of a tight line nymphing rig and the excitement of a dry fly rig. It’s very different than the other styles of dry dropper because it’s built on a Mono Rig. And the catch rate, for where this rig applies, is often doubled or even tripled.

Continue reading Podcast: Tight Line Dry Dropper — Dry Dropper Skills Series #4 at Troutbitten.

Standard Dry Dropper is the industry standard for a reason. Because it’s what you get when you simply add a nymph on behind the dry fly. Sometimes, that pairing is perfect, and with a good cast and even better mending skills, this standard setup catches trout all day long.

It's a useful style that solves a lot of problems. Especially if you surrender to the idea that the nymph is the primary fly being fished . . .

Continue reading Podcast: Standard Dry Dropper — Dry Dropper Skills Series #3 at Troutbitten.

Light Dry Dropper is perfect for offering the dry fly as a primary choice. And sometimes, the frequency of takes on the added nymph is stunning.

Fishing a nymph under a dry fly is rarely as simple as adding a nymph and casting it out there. Some forethought into what your objectives truly are, measured against your options for rigging and fly selection, goes a long way toward filling the net with trout . . .

Continue reading Podcast: Light Dry Dropper — Dry Dropper Skills Series #2 at Troutbitten.

"Fishing dry dropper” can really mean a lot of things. And each of these styles has many moments when it's the clear winner.

So the next time someone talks about dry dropper fishing, ask them what style -- because there's a lot of room for variety.

Continue reading Podcast: Three Styles of Dry Dropper — Dry Dropper Skills Series #1 at Troutbitten.

I first picked up fly fishing as a teenager, and I vividly remember the confusion. With time, I learned to cast the weight of the line rather than the weight of the lure, but I didn’t know what to do with the line after the cast. Sure, I learned about mending, but that never seemed to solve the problems at hand. Enter, tight lining concepts . . .

Continue reading The Tight Line Advantage Across Fly Fishing Styles at Troutbitten.

A friend of mine once described a truly slidable, easily movable, dry dropper as the Holy Grail of fly fishing. I suppose it depends on where your goals and interests lie, but if you like fishing nymphs under a dry, then you’ve surely wished the dry fly was easily re-positioned without tying more knots. There is a way . . .

Continue reading A Slidable Dry Dropper System at Troutbitten.

. . .The flow of the fly line through the air is finesse and freedom. Contrasted with nymphing, streamer fishing, or any other method that adds weight to the system, casting the weightless dry fly with a fly line is poetry.

The cast is unaffected because the small soft hackle on a twelve-inch tether simply isn’t heavy enough to steal any provided slack from the dry. It’s an elegant addition that keeps the art of dry fly fishing intact . . .

Continue reading Light Dry Dropper in the Flow at Troutbitten.

The early spring season is very much defined by the resurgence of the egg pattern. And by the time the suckers are done doing their thing, our hatch season is in full swing. Then, just like that, the egg bite turns off. Suddenly the trout favor mayfly and caddis imitations over the full-color egg options.

But as reliable as the egg bite can be in early spring, you don’t want to sleep on the Olives . . .

Continue reading Eggs and Olives at Troutbitten.

It's the effectiveness of a nymphing rig and the excitement of a dry fly rig, with boosted catch rates.

In this four part series covering dry dropper styles, I've saved the best for last.

I prefer methods that lend excellent control to the angler. And tight line rigs, with direct contact as the primary feature, are built for just that. Add a dry fly to the rig and tight line dry dropper is the best of all possible worlds . . .

Continue reading Three Styles of Dry Dropper: #3 — Tight Line Dry Dropper at Troutbitten.