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Stillwater Droppers

With the exception of a few states and provinces such as British Columbia most jurisdictions allow the use of multiple flies or droppers.  To be certain, check the regulations, especially when travelling to new destinations or unfamiliar waters for the first time.  Local fly shops are a great source for regulation information as are a few valuable minutes surfing the Internet.  Even if droppers are a permitted presentation tactic verify the number.  Some states and provinces only allow up to 2 droppers and only under certain circumstances.  Others like Alberta permit the use of up to a team of 3 flies.  Other provinces and states vary their regulations based upon the fish being targeted.  For example, Newfoundland allows liberal regulations when pursuing trout but only 1 hook per line when Atlantic Salmon is the quarry.  Prudence saves potentially embarrassing situations or costly errors in judgment. Regulations permitting, stillwater fly fishers should add dropper tactics to their repertoire.

 

So why would a fly fisher wish to turn a simple, efficient one fly system into multi fly potentially tippet consuming nightmare anyway?  The reasons are numerous, providing advantages that work wonders for versatile stillwater fly anglers.

 

Choice is an obvious reason.  Multiple fly rigs allow simultaneous presentation of multiple sizes and colors within a particular pattern style.  Chironomids are a prime example, as they often hatch in varying sizes and colors.  Using droppers  fly fishers quickly determine the preferred size and color enjoying a successful outing before the hatch ebbs.  Using a single size or color in the same situation adds time and in some instances results in discovering the winning combination far too late.  When there is little in the way of clues as to what might be on the menu droppers allow fly fishers to suggest a cross section of possible prey items.  Potential combinations are limited perhaps by only the fly fisher’s imagination.  One approach involves suggesting the predator prey relationship.  Placing a dragon nymph pattern on the point, the pattern located at the end of the leader furthest away from the fly line and a scud or other dragon fodder can be the key to seducing discerning trout.  Choosing patterns that can be presented at varying pace is another option.  Leeches, baitfish, scuds, water boatman and damsel nymph patterns can all be presented through a range of retrieve speeds.  Blending these pattern types with imitations known for more a sedentary pace such as chironomid pupa or larva patterns affords fly fishers additional options.  Offering trout a choice enables the fly anglers the ability to eliminate non-productive pattern types, pattern colors or specific food sources, unravelling the mystery in an efficient structured fashion.


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