Hopper-dropper Question

[Xplorer]

Hey Guys,

 

I have been fishing a Hopper dropper quite a bit lately on the Bow and down south on the Livingstone. I have been having some trouble with detecting takes on the dropper. There are times when my dry fly doesn't move but then I see a fish jumping trying to throw the hook(my dropper). Then the fish is hooked for a few seconds if at all. It doesn't happen all the time but enough to make me think my set up is off. I usually have about 24" between the dry and dropper. Should I shorten it up a bit? I tried a little more weight on the dropper to keep the slack out of the line, but even the smallest splitshot sinks the dry.

 

When I was down at the livingstone, The water was crystal clear and I could see the flash of a fish and set the hook, I rarely had to wait for the dry to move to detect strikes. But here on the bow, I don't see that flash very often. A couple of times when I was picking up to cast again there was a fish on that I had no indication from the dry was there.

 

This maybe normal for a hopper dropper set up, not really sure, so I thought I would ask.

 

Thanks everyone

 

Lance

 

[rhuseby]

No matter how small and sensitive your indicator is, there times when a fish will suck in the nymph without making any sign. I have watched a brookie suck in a nymph only 16" from a small yarn indicator and not cause a visible quiver in it. All you can do is watch the hopper closely and strike at the slightest movement or slowing. You'll have a lot of false strikes but you will likely pickup some extra fish.

[maxwell]

hey dude that can definetly happen it could be the sink time on your nymph o weight not dragging it down a ton or reallyfast i definetly see this often but like flyangler said sometime the fish are pretty quick before u see anything happen.. one option could be fishign two droppers so u ge tmore weight or using lighter tippet to it slices through the water faster!

[Gil]

I prefer light Tippett for hopper dropper. Definitely believe it helps my hit ratio especially in very clear water.

 

[Noud]

In dry - dropper set ups I usually only have about 12" to 16" between the dry and the dropper. In my opinion 24" is a bit long unless you use a very heavy dropper in which case nymphing with multiple nymphs would work better I think.

 

Most of the time when fishing like this I fish a large -well floating- dry fly size 6 - 10 with a size 12 - 18 snipe & purple which in most cases works fine for me...Haven't tried a dry dropper set up with a nymph pattern yet.

 

Maybe my method wouldn't work so well on the other side of the pond which I will be crossing in less than two weeks...

 

[adams]

I'm not an expert, but I do fish a hopper-dropper a lot.

 

I usually have a 14 - 16 inch dropper and my droppers are all bead-head (adds a little weight but not enough to sink the hopper). I also use kind of a dump-cast to drive that dropper down quickly ahead of the hopper to get it vertical as quickly as possibly.

 

Also, I've noticed that big foam hoppers are not nearly as sensitive as a good old stimulator.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Adams

[bowbonehead]

Vary the length according to the water depth you are fishing and twitch the hopper from time to time as this will induce strikes(sometimes very aggressive) both to the hopper and the nymph.

[Hawgstoppah]

When fishing the bow set on anything that even changes the drift speed slightly. You'll be able to watch a foam bubble or something near your fly... if your fly suddenly hesitates or slows, set the hook. Every time. Your not going to miss a chance at a fish if there was NOT one there, but if you do not strike you'll miss 100% of the fish that were there... the old saying ... you'll only make a small percentage of the shots you do take but you'll miss 100% of the ones you don't take. So even if your spidey senses tell you to strike and you see NOTHING, set the hook!

 

And I agree with twitching... especially if your fishing from a boat... long drifts along shorelines with twitches can produce some awesome fish... expecially along those slow banks where fish have a long time to inspect the fly.

 

cheers.