Tandem rig

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guppieguy
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2012/11/23 16:50:51 (permalink)

Tandem rig

Hello to all!  
I've just as of recently joined this site, as i can see it has a wealth of information to offer for a person like myself that is relatively new to fly fishing.  I have tried my hand at some steelhead fishing this fall, and i was thinking about utilizing tandem rigs (which i have never done before). I searched the internet with no conclusive results as to what a "standard" tandem rig is for steelhead. What have you fellas tried? is it more beneficial to have a box of pre-tied tandem rig combos, or to just switch it up on the water as you see fit?
One more stupid question- does the dropper fly get tied to the bend in the hook of the point fly, or does it get tied to the eye of the point fly? I was alittle confused about that.
 
any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks guys
                 -Guppie
 
 
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    schmoe
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    Re:Tandem rig 2012/11/23 17:01:35 (permalink)
    I fish tandem flies about 75% of the time. As for what the best combos are, that's a personal preference. I normally use a large leading fly followed by a small trailing fly. Sometimes I'll have two identical flies. Other than that, I switch up until I find what works.

    I tie the trailing fly to the hook bend of the lead fly wiith tippet one size lighter than my main line.
    #2
    davef
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    Re:Tandem rig 2012/11/23 17:22:31 (permalink)
    Try any combination of flies you can come up with.  Also try a combo with eggs or other plastic as either the leading or trailing fly.  I also do as schmoe does and tie the trailer at the bend with a leader 2 pounds less than my main leader.
     
    My fly box has slits in the foam to slide the hook point into.  The maximum space is about 5 inches so I have about 10 tandem rigs all ready tied up when I hit the creek and the flies are spaced about 5 inches apart.  I was worried that such a short length might cause a hook to end up in the eye of the fish, but after 4 or 5 years it still hasn't happened.
     
    Some good fisherman I know use eggs sacs in front followed by a nymph also.  I do try and use 2 completely different colors to try and see if one is better than the other on any given day.
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    Pa_Fly_Guide
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    Re:Tandem rig 2012/11/26 10:27:26 (permalink)
    I go with tandem rigs 100 % of the time. 2 hooks in the water > 1 hook in the water. The way I do it is heavier to lighter both in flies and tippet. For example I will fish 3 x leader down to 4 x tippet and then something like a copper john, then 5 x tippet down to an egg or unweighted nymph. The thought is that the weight up front drops those flies and leaves your trailer to "bounce" around on the bottom and sometimes even higher in the column.  The rig changes some if you are beading or fishing soft eggs but most other times that is the way I set mine up. Flies will obviously vary considerably depending on species targeted and specific waterways fished.
     
    Nick
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