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Dropper rig with Chironomids?

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trout
10K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  Kelly Kovach 
#1 ·
Hey guys,

I have been having a fun time fishing my favorite lake this spring with leaches and other patterns, but was wondering about a chironomid fishing style that I read about.

You have a large dryfly (I was thinking a moose hair boatman) on 4 ft of mono attached to your fly line, and x-number of feet of mono attached to the eye of the hook, upon which you secure your chironomid.

It sounds like a logical way to eliminate those pesky strike indicators, but is there anyone here who knows if it is actually effective, or even legal for that matter?

Thanks!
 
#3 · (Edited)
SDPY-BC fishing regulations are found here. http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/regulations/ The use of a dropper fly is prohibited in all BC waters and is a basic regulation that NO angler has any excuse for not knowing. Please read your regs, you might have missed the fact that barbed hooks are banned in most streams and rivers in the province and are banned for all salmon fishing. Catch and release regulations are covered in the regs as well. Do not rely on online forums to inform you of the do's and don'ts of angling, the regulations are your ultimate guide and are easily obtainable.
 
#5 · (Edited)
So I found out when I was discussing it with a friend. I think that next year, what I may end up doing is tying a boatman/moose hair beetle pattern onto a dummy hook (a straight piece of wire with loops at both ends), then tie a chironomid onto the posterior loop.

Is this technically legal? It's not a hook, and it has no chance of lodging in the fish's gullet, but it would increase the attraction to the general direction of my chironomid.

As for the other details, thank you Prof; however, I was already aware. :)
 
#7 ·
I grew up fishing a dropper rig or a team of three. Not sure why it is illegal here but it is. I have no horror stories of foul-hooked fish or leader wrapped fish. You will occasionally catch 2 fish on a dropper rig but it is very useful as a strategy to see where fish are feeding. i.e. on nymphs, emergers or adults. I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who has the straight poop on why more than one hook is illegal in BC.
 
#8 ·
LOL, I hate indicators! They seem to bug up the line too fast for my liking.
Typically I would use a fluoro leader with the indicator and any time it gets kinked (from the indicator) it gathers the most outrageous wind knots ever! After a while I just gave up on using the dumb things...until thinking of a dropper.

I haven't tried using a mono leader in a long time, but I suppose perhaps it would stand up better to wind knots.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I'm far from an expert but I find fluoro actually kinks far less than mono when used with quick release indicators compared to mono and being somewhat stiffer actually turns over easier than mono too.

If you are getting wind knots I would hazard to guess that either 1) your leader is too long and the indicator is too far from the end of the fly line. Adjust your overall leader length so that the indi is no more than a couple feet from the end so your fly line has a chance of turning it over. 2) you're trying to cast a perfect tight loop which is troublesome with longer leaders. Open up your loop a bit and it will be much more forgiving. It wont look too pretty but it works. 3) You're casting leader lengths too long for you to handle. Not to imply poor casting skills or anything like that. I am absolutely no master caster myself so I limit out around 25' of leader comfortably, 30' max. Some guys claim to cast 40 or even 50 feet of leader which is mind boggling to me. I would probably be an absolute disaster if I tried managing a leader that long.

Limit false casting and always cast downwind so the wind will straighten out the long leader a bit and it wont pile onto itself as much. Do you use a swivel? I think the added weight of the swivel helps straighten out the leader a bit on the forward cast too. I just started chironomid fishing this year and have been lucky enough to only get a wind knot every few days...
 
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