When NOT to Fish a Dropper
When NOT to Fish a Dropper
It’s no secret, I’m a two-fly guy, in many situations. Two dries, a dry and a dropper, even a streamer with a dropper. The options are seemingly endless. Everyone should always fish two flies, right? As is true in everything in life, there are no absolutes with the notable exceptions of death, taxes, and a bad day of fishing is always better than a good day at work.
So, when do you NOT want to fish a dropper?
DIALED IN
If I’m dialed in on the right fly and so are the fish. There are those situations where the trout are super selective, and you’ve got the right bug. Fishing two flies can affect your drift, especially with dries. If you’ve got a spinner fall dialed in, and the fish are super selective, you don’t want to do anything to affect that perfect drag free drift.
WELCOME TO FLY FISHING
If you’re new to the sport, I strongly recommend against going with two flies out of the gates. You have many other more important skills to master. Fishing with two flies under these circumstances is going to be very frustrating. Master your casts, learn to read the water, master getting a good drift, amongst many others.
BRING ON THE HURRICANE
Strong winds can be brutal. If I’m fishing delicate dries, I’ll revert to just one. Normally you’ve got enough of a challenge just trying to manage your cast. Indicator fishing would be a notable exception. The wind can create some interesting chop on the water and provide nice action to your bugs below the water. In these circumstances, I’ll give it a go with the dropper. It usually pays off nicely and can worth the added handling frustrations.
IT’S BEEN A BAD DAY
Fishing is like any other skill; it needs to be practiced. Just as baseball, football, golf, poor etc. muscle memory has a lot to do with the quality of the execution. If you’ve been away from the game for a bit, sometimes it’s better to simplify and slow down. God forbid you haven’t been fishing in a couple of months and work, family and life in general kept you off the water. Sometimes it’s best just to immerse yourself in the moment, go back to the basics and get yourself back on track.
Please remember, we only have this one mother earth. Take care of her. Pack it in, Pack it out. Until next time my fishy friends......
Tight Lines and Screaming Drags