January Skunk is Finally Off

[zonker]

I was beginning to wonder about my case of January skunk. Three trips with nothing. It came off this morning with this broad shouldered 14# nate.

Completely inhaled my jig dropper.





zonker

[Fish]

Way to go Dave, I've never tried a Dropper, I know Bugnuts love's them.

[Sage1]

Way to go nice fish

[spinnerfish]

Nice fish! I have never used a dropper before. How do you rig your dropper? What kind of droppers do you use. I have been wanting to try one but I don't know where to start. I need to get me one of them big Nates. That is a beautiful fish.

[zonker]

Spinnerfish,

I've been contemplating a tutorial on droppers. I'm surprised someone else hasn't done one. Maybe I can put one together soon.

zonker

[spinnerfish]

Thanks Dave, I would really appreciate it. I really would be interested in using one. It seems like it would only increase your chances.

[dardevle]

I like the dropper idea and have thought about it seriously lately with the low clear flows.  This way a guy can go with a traditional jig and add something a little more subtle.  I just don't have the confidence to try yet.  I fear that it might make the main jig less effective since something totally foreign is hanging from it.  But, it sounds like Zonk has experienced "double your pleasure", so to speak!  I would love to see your setup.  I've done it with single Jensen eggs on a #4 hook with a 2' leader attached to the bend of the jig hook but truthfully I haven't given it a chance.  It must work since recently in STS I saw a jig with 2 eyes in order to better attach the dropper.

[zonker]

OK guys. Here are a couple of things about droppers. If I do a tutorial there will be a lot more.

While there is a lot that can be written about them, I've been using an innovative jig made by Over the Edge Tackle called a Candy Dropper. It has a jig head with two eyes - one on the top and one on the bottom. (Like dardevle mentioned above.) These are fairly new. They come with a little dropper "fly" made on a tube. It slips onto the leader of a egg-looped hook, like a corky but it is almost neutrally buoyant. This has provoked some renewed interest for me in tube flies and their appllication to the issue of droppers. Some of the flyfishers on this site will recognize what I'm talking about when I speak of tying on tubes. Here's a pic of the Candy Dropper Jig and fly:





And a close up of the jig and dropper tube fly:





And some homemade tube fly droppers. These are a piece of cake to make using a Q-tip stem, a darning needle, a match, and your fly tying vise. I can 'splain it if anyone wants me to.





Jig is tied on the end of your leader, then the tube fly is threaded on a snelled (or egg looped) hook and leader and pegged with a toothpick. The leader is then tied on the lower eye of the jig. I use a dropper leader of about a foot and a half. Set your float according to the depth of the jig, not the dropper as it will tend to ride up and over the rocks because of its light weight.

Most of the fish I've caught with this method have taken the dropper rather than the jig. Go figure.

Lots of things can serve as droppers: Glo bugs, Steelhead flies, hooks with very small corkies and yarn, Jensen eggs. I suppose you could even fish bait this way. The key, in my experience, is keeping the dropper fairly light so it will float along natually with the current, somewhere near the level of your jig.

zonker

[FJ]

That looks sweet Zonker! I must give that a try here real soon!

[BC Steel]

Interesting for sure, illegal where I am, but cool none the less for those that can use it. Would be kind of hectic I'm sure fishing around a lot of wood with a fish hooked on the dropper.

[zonker]

BC,

That's one reason why you keep the dropper leader short.

We're allowed three hooks here in Oregon.

Maybe I should try two droppers?

Actually, wet fly fishermen in the old days used to use what was called a "cast." That's a string of droppers flies tied on the leader. If I recall correctly, in the old flyfishing books that I grew up with (back in the day) by authors like Ray Bergman and A.J. McClane, they used up to six or seven wet flies in a cast. Now that's dropper fishin'!

zonker

[BC Steel]

Man, never mind wind knots, I'd probably end up with a whole monofilament sweater trying to cast that many flies 

[zonker]

Now that would be an interesting picture.

[Fllyfishy]

Those do look good Dave.  I usually with fish glo balls or Yarn eggs.



I have never see those type of Jigs or droppers.  Obviously they work.  Nice job explaining the dropper tactic.  

[zonker]

Dean,

Those look great!

z~