A couple of posts ago I mentioned fishing different colors and stages of life in the midge world.
Although, fishing more than one fly on a rigging can be quite rewarding, it has it's problems also. Problems such as the secondary tippets (the ones you add to carry the additional flies) fouling the primary tippet or leader.
To combat this, I started tying an overhand knot in the added tippet after the added tippet was secured with a surgeon's knot. Clipping the short tag end of the added tippet, I simply take the fly carrying end and make an overhand knot around the primary tippet. This seems to hold the added tippet perpendicular, or at a right or left angle to the primary tippet.
Another thing to consider in saving yourself a lot of grief when fishing more than one fly is the cast you make. If you are proud of that tight narrow loop you can cast, then you might as well leave it at home when fishing tandem rigs - it's only going to cause you trouble.
And then there is the distance you are casting. When fishing multiple flies I have never found a reason to make a cast beyond twenty feet. I'm fishing the water near me because something I've seen has told me there is evidence of midge activity there.
When fishing a trio of the midge world I tie the weighted fly on the bottom or the deep column fly, let's say a beadhead Zebra. Judging the depth of the water and the speed of the flow, I may or may not add split shot about eight inches up.
For the second or mid column fly, I'll choose a midge with a more pronounced thorax which simulates the pupa stage.
And finally, as the top column fly, that is set quite shallow below the indicator, I choose a midge pattern that simulates a shucking or escaping midge.
One thing for certain is that the way I choose to present multiple flies is not perfect. I mix, match, don't mix or match, present one color in contrast with another color in the different columns. Some will argue what I do is plum silly... and that's okay. For me, it's all on the pathway of discovering all there is about fly fishing and particularly fly fishing using the maddening world of the midge.
Good luck to all of you in pursuit of trout by way of the midge.
4 comments:
Barry,
If you add the desired size tippet in diameter to a double or triple surgeon's knot that is your knot to the tippet of the bottom fly, you will have another section to tie a fly on, the length depending upon the length you added, allowing for knot use of course. Also, slipping a piece of tippet with an overhand (wind) knot into the surgeon's knot and pulling it snug after the knot is competed works as well. We use a larger midge pupa as weight often, with a smaller more appropriate fly 6-12" under tied to the larger fly's bend, with a small corky as an indicator. I have knot flies also, as fish kept attacking knots in the leader even in the butt section. And these are big wild browns. Midges are the best!
Gregg
One method it occurred to me is one you mentioned. I apologize. If you have fast water try a tiny swivel, #14, and attach a 6'8" dropper on the BOTTOM and also the longer tippet on the bottom, both with midge or say a PT and a midge. I use this under an indicator and the swivel with dropper and trailer fly rarely tangles. The swivel can be gold even, still fools fish.
Gregg
Good stuff Gregg! Keep it coming cause I'm lovin' it.
I hope this makes my typo better. The dropper is 6 to 8" and both dropper and trailer are tied to the bottom loop of the swivel, that is, the end toward the trailing fly. The longer tippet is usually 24" to 28".
Gregg
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