Part 5
If you’re headed out trout fishing on the Deschutes this spring and summer, you’ll definitely want to make good presentations and focus on the deep bank water. Here are a few rigs we use while guiding the Deschutes for trout.
Leader For Dry Fly With Bead Head Dropper Fishing
For fishing a bead head dropper below a dry, take a 9’, 4x Rio Trout Leader and cut it back to 7.5’. Tie on 2’ of 5X Rio Flourocarbon Tippet to the Leader using a blood knot. Tie your dry fly on to the tippet using a clinch knot. Tie a 16” to 36” section of Rio Florocarbon tippet to the bend of the dry fly hook using a clinch knot. Tie on the bead head dropper to the end of the tippet using clinch knot. The distance from your dry to the dropper should be based on what the fish are doing. Dress the dry fly with Gink making certain you don’t get any on the tippet.
Leader For Dry Fly With Emerger Dropper Fishing
When fishing emergers, you want to keep the distance fairly short between the two flies. This will keep your flies drifting in the same foam line and will reduce micro drag in your presentation. Use the exact same leader and fluorocarbon tippet as the Dry/Dropper. However, only use a 12” section of Rio Fluorocarbon Tippet to the bend of the dry fly hook using a clinch knot. Tie on the emerger to the end of the tippet using clinch knot. Dress the dry fly with Gink making certain you don’t get any on the tippet. If the fish are eating emergers right in the surface film, you’ll want to lightly dress the top of the emerger.
Leader For Stonefly Dry Fly Fishing
You’ll want to shorten up your leader when fishing large stonefly dry flies for maximum turn over. Take a Rio 7.5”, 3X Trout Leader and cut it back 1.5’ from the tippet. Replace with 2’ of Rio 4X Fluorocarbon Tippet. Tie on your stonefly dry using a four turn “saltwater loop knot” to give to fly the ability to naturally move in the current. If you fish a bead head dropper below your dry fly, tie a 16” to 36” section of Rio Florocarbon tippet to the bend of the dry fly hook using a clinch knot. Tie on the bead head dropper to the end of the tippet using clinch knot. The distance from your dry to the dropper should be based on what the fish are doing. Dress the dry fly with Gink making certain you don’t get any on the tippet.
Good Luck!
-Larimer Outfitters Staff