Two nymph rigs, dry – dropper rigs, streamer – nymph rigs, tandem rigs, two fly setup, three fly rigs. Whatever you call a multi-fly setup, topwater or underwater, you’re increasing your odds of finding fish.
Covering the water searching for fish involves a fair amount of reading the water to determine where to place your cast and fly in the hopes of obtaining the correct drift resulting in a natural presentation.
When we present two or even three flies we are more thoroughly covering the area the fish are watching for food. Keep in mind, these systems do not negate the anglers need to read the water and determine where the fish is expecting its food to come from.
As we consider these multiple fly systems for smallmouth bass, the options and varieties are endless. A few that we use frequently are the popping bug/ dry fly, popping bug/ dropper, a two nymph rig, a three fly rig and a nymph/ streamer combination.
Poppers and Droppers
Utilizing Popping Bugs vs. Deer Hair Bass Bugs vs. Dry Flies vs. Foam Flies is a matter of personal preference and experience. The Popping Bug/ Dropper is easy and effective for me simply because the popper doesn’t require much maintenance to float and remain visible. This is particularly helpful for folks just getting started in fly fishing when not every cast lands exactly where you planned. The top fly or first fly is called the “point fly” and the bottom is simply the “dropper”.
I like to adjust the length of tippet between my Popper and Dropper based on the average depth of the water I am fishing. Typically we use an 18″ – 24″ dropper while running the banks from the boat or while wade fishing along the shady banks and grass beds. A great benefit to this is not only covering more water (topwater and underwater) but a Popping Bug such as this Blue Popper will float a fairly large nymph very well. I often use a size #6 Popper with a #8 Hellgrammite dropper. One thing I do almost 100% of the time is going to smaller tippet for my dropper than I am using on my Point Fly. This serves one purpose, when my dropper hangs up I stand a better chance of the lighter tippet material breaking versus the slightly larger material tied to my Popper (Point Fly).
Another variation on the Popper – Dropper is utilizing a Popping Bug, with its greater visibility, as the “Point Fly” with a dry fly or, as in the image above, a Murray’s Bass Cricket as the “Dropper”. In this case, I don’t like fluorocarbon tippet material since its properties cause it to sink, defeating my “dry” fly.
As we progress through the Summer and the Smallmouth Bass become more wary as the water levels drop, often we will catch more fish, both big and small, on smaller popping bugs. One of my favorite techniques when this happens is to tie a large popper as my point fly and a small popper as my “dropper”. I typically tie my dropper tippet material off of the bend of the hook of my point fly but I have tied it off of the eye of my point fly. This is personal preference and I encourage you to experiment to find which works best for your casting and fishing style.
Nymph and Streamer Multi Fly Rigs
Smallmouth Bass take somewhere around 85% of their food underwater. The warm water streams throughout the country which hold Smallmouth Bass have a wide variety of underwater food available to them. While getting to the bottom is generally the name of the game as we fly fish with underwater patterns, the bass don’t necessarily only look down. A two fly system with a Crayfish and Streamer, such as pictured above, gives anglers the opportunity to cover the water with two flies in a down and across streamer fishing style. This same system works when Swing Nymphing or high sticking to get these flies closer to the bottom. Tying the dropper to the eye of the point fly allows the streamer to “swim”, especially when you Swing Nymph this system along the heavy current. This works well when we use a heavy eyed fly with a lighter trailer fly such as our Dying Minnows.
Two Nymph (or more) Rigs
Two Nymph Rigs are very popular trout fishing around the world and for good reason, multiple flies equals more bang for your buck. There are many reasons to utilize this rig. One reason is using a larger, heavier nymph to get a smaller, lighter nymph down in the water column. A second reason is covering multiple depths in the water column.
Fishing your patterns on the bottom in deep or fast current can often only be achieved effectively with a Tight Line Nymphing/ Swing Nymphing/ High Sticking/ Czech/ Euro Nymphing technique. The need for this becomes more evident when the water is cool and the bass don’t have the energy to chase their food.
When we consider the hatching aquatic insects which are available to the fish, during their emergence (swimming from the bottom to the top) they are very accessible to the fish. From mid Spring through late Fall you will find aquatic insects hatching which means the nymphs or larva are active underwater.
The ability to tie two or even three nymphs on your leader gives you more options to cover the water column. We will often tie a #10 or #12 Mr. Rapidan Soft Hackle, #10 Damselfly Nymph or #10 Casual Dress 12″ above a heavier nymph such as a Rubber Legged Nymph or Heavy Eyed Hellgrammite. Simply fish this as a single nymph, covering the deep runs and cuts as well as the pockets within the riffles.
Adjust the distance between the flies until you find where the fish are looking for the emerging insects.
This system also works well with two heavy nymphs when you find the current is too deep or fast to get one fly to the bottom. Instead of adding numerous split shot, simply add a second heavy fly and double your odds of showing the fish something appetizing. This is often my go to technique when the rivers come up quickly from a localized thunderstorm which often results in aggressive feeding fish.
Equipment and Gear for Multi – Fly Rigs
The equipment needed to use multiple flies is no different than what you would use fishing a single fly with one exception. When you use two heavy nymphs, use caution if you have difficulty casting one heavy nymph with your fly rod. Floating or sinking fly lines will work with the correct multiple fly system (don’t try to fish your poppers on a sinking line). I like a 9′ Classic or Bright Butt Leader as an all around leader for streamers, nymphs and top water flies. When I find I am planning to strictly nymph fish, I prefer a 13′ Euro Nymphing Leader since it lets me more quickly get my flies to the bottom. Fluorocarbon tippet material is great for the increased abrasion resistance and its propensity to sink (Fluorocarbon’s specific gravity is greater than 1 as it pertains to water which results in it sinking). A longer fly rod will allow you better drag control and more reach but this is also personal preference. If you want to learn or improve on these techniques, check out our Guided Fishing Trips or On-the-Stream Schools.
A note of caution for any angler interested in using these multi fly systems. A good friend of mine has a saying that goes something like this, “The number of flies in the system is exponentially proportional to the number of knots you will inadvertently tie in your leader”. Patience while learning to use multiple flies will pay dividends. Just be patient and don’t be afraid to admire the beautiful knot you accidentally tied when you missed that strike, then cut the knot and start over.
As you educate yourself on using multiple flies for various conditions, you are going to run into quite a broad vocabulary with confusing meaning. Here are a few examples;
The Anchor Fly – Usually refers to a heavier fly, typically a nymph, possibly with a tungsten bead that is the farthest fly from the rod tip.
The Point Fly – Usually the bigger fly that you can see or the only floating fly in the case of the dry/dropper. The point fly can also refer to the heaviest fly in the system which is typically on the bottom – the farthest from the rod tip.
The Dropper – This fly can be almost anywhere – below a fly, behind a streamer, behind a nymph or even dangling off of the tippet on it’s own piece of tippet material or a long tag end of a knot within the leader.
The Floating Bobber – In the world of Swing Nymphing / Czech/ Euro Nymphing/ Tight Line Nymphing you don’t use a floating one.
French Nymphing – Refers to the fishing style of casting a long leader and maintaining slight tension throughout the drift while your nymph drifts across the bottom of the stream. Typically upstream fishing. No floating indicators.
Czech Nymphing – Refers to casting, primarily the leader, upstream and allowing the fly or flies to drift across the bottom past your position as you continually move your rod tip to stay tight to the fly. For those who have been to our Smallmouth Classes, this is what we call Swing Nymphing.
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