Fishing the Dry Dropper: A dry that catches the fish

This method of fishing rivers has been around for a bit and takes on several names including Klink and Dink, some calling it New Zealand style fishing also; however, I like to call it Dry Dropper. This name describes best how I find it should be set up, well for me anyway. I am no expert on this form of fly fishing, but I have spent a lot of time over the last few years trying to better my self at it. This is due to its importance in catching fish, especially in the water that is difficult to nymph euro style. Here is a couple tips I have picked up along the way and for this post we will really look at the importance of the dry fly more so than the nymphs. 
It is my understanding that the dry has 3 fundamental functions in this set up. One, it must float well, second you must be able to see it and thirdly it must be able to support the weight of the nymph or nymphs below.  But there is another one I would like to add to that and this is; it must be able to catch fish. For some anglers a lot of the emphasis when it comes to the dry fly or indicator fly is the first three components and they sacrifice the important aspect of the dry not catching fish. 

I often get asked what dry I use for my set up when fishing this way, and often this comes from anglers that are struggling to see their dry, its not sitting right for them or they are not catching fish with the ones they are using. This is the dry I find that ticks all the above boxes.

 Hook: Dohiku 611 from size 12 to 14 
Thread: Fine strong Silk 
Post: Pink or Orange Para wing 
Rib: Fine Pearl Tinsel 
Body dubbing: Natural Hares Ear 
Hackle: Grizzle Cock Hackles 
Thorax: Mixed natural hares ear, gold lite bright, purple dubbing and red light brite all blended in a coffee blender. 

I always tie the dry fly on a short dropper as I find that I catch more fish when the fly is on a dropper rather than attaching tippet to the bend of the hook to connect the dry fly to the nymph. 
The distance between the dry and nymph is crucial for this method to be effective also. I have a general rule to begin with, that the distance is the depth of the water to your best guess and half that again to the nymph. I tend to use a short aggressive dry leader and I like to fish the set up as close to me as possible to save lining fish by casting any distance away from my position.  

I normally treat the post of this dry with water shed to help it float for longer periods of time, this also make it easier to dry off with less false casts. This dry will count for 15% of fish caught on the dry dropper the majority of days fishing it. It is highly visible, floats extremely well and sure as hell catches fish. Have a selection of sizes and colours in your box to suit the conditions and requirements on the day. on different days you may need larger ones to support two or heavier nymphs and on other days the one different coloured post could be more visible than the other. 
Also it is important to remember that the dry dose not have to disappear or sink to indicate a take, a slight movement which is unnatural to the current of the water can be an indication that a fish has picked up your nymph. the high visibility and fishing the set up in close proximity will aid you in spotting these tell tale signs of a fish. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post and it has sparked some thoughts in developing your fishing and fly tying going forward in the new season. If you have any questions or queries please feel free to contact me. Also make sure and check out my website www.piscari-fly.com for all your tungsten beads, Dohiku barbless hooks, the amazing Syndicate Fly Rods, Reels, leaders and much more. Thanks for reading.