Tying on a dropper when you’re on the water can be a real pain for some anglers, as Steve Moore says of this video: “Tiny tippet, big fingers and small hooks all conspire to make this aspect of fly fishing difficult.” We’ve offered a couple simple methods for creating the standard hook-bend dropper knot–see here–but Steve shows another great way that makes use of your hemostat.
I have found that, no matter the knot, there’s no method for tying it that works for everyone, so I always enjoy discovering new methods that will help more anglers be able to get the job done.
Does this work with barbless hooks re : sliding down the hook when a fish is on?
This works until it slide off. Use a tag.
I use this all the time… never had one slip off a barbless hook… but I don’t use a forceps to tie the knot… using fingers works just fine…
I’ve never had one slip off a barbless hook and I very rarely fish with less than 2 flies.
Great tutorial! Keep passing on these tidbits please!
a real live, useable, solves just one issue/problem, tip. Loved it.
I tie them in tandem all the time, on barbless hooks, and never had one slip off
Great tip on creating a clinch knot. I agree with Gregg though. I always tie my dropper using the tag end to account for variability in water currents. BTW – it appears in the video that Steve handled the fish with dry hands. Big No No if he did.