Fishing guide and England International angler Lewis Hendrie talks us through his approach and set up when fishing the duo method.
Lewis, what is the duo?
The Duo is a technique where we fish both a dry and a nymph at the same time allowing us to search the water to find out what mind set the fish are in when there is little or no activity or if we lack confidence in reading the water due to less predictable conditions.
I look at it as “killing two birds with one stone”, where we are catering to both the fish looking up (surface feeding fish) and the fish feeding sub surface or deep in the water.
The technique originated from the well known ’New Zealand dropper system’ where the dry fly allowed the angler to read takes on the nymph more easily with the use or a big dry fly, that also served a purpose of a self catching fly, instead of just an indicator.
The birth of the duo saw a modern and improved twist on the technique.
How does this differ from a New Zealand dropper?
The major difference between the two techniques are the way we attach the flies.
New Zealand style sees the sacrificial tippet holding the nymph attached to the bend of the dry fly hook, where as the duo uses a dropper set up, where the dry fly is tied on to a dropper and the nymph is tied on the point allowing the dry more freedom of movement and allows the fish to intercept the dry more directly without nosing the tippet causing them to either miss the dry or not get such a good hook up.
Is duo a better set up than a NZ dropper or does each have their own merits?
Each system has its pros and cons which are highlighted below but the duo is my preferred choice as being a keen catch and release fisherman it favours the welfare of the fish as it is less likely to foul hook fish as explained below
- The NZ dropper offers a more sensitive rig in regard to how quickly the dry reacts when a fish intercepts the nymph.
- It also can offer a quicker alternative to changing the distance between the two flies.
When extending the length of tippet between the dry and the nymph we can simply add a new sacrificial piece of line without shortening the overall length of the tapered leader. (Making adjustments to the duo we would have to snip the line off behind the water knot to tie a new water knot resulting in the distance between fly line and dry to become shorter.)
The NZ Dropper has a tendancy of missing more takes during the strike when fish take the dry fly resulting in the nymph foul hooking the fish.
Also, due to the connection of the NZ dropper it creates a hinge in the line between the dry and nymph resulting in the nymph kicking over on the delivery cast meaning a more splashy presentation and less accuracy in placing both flies to the intended target. Whereas the duo offers a cleaner more accurate hook up when the fish intercepts the dry fly and keeps the line tight during the fight, increasing the chances of landing the fish
It also allows the flies to present themselves more discreetly and more accurately on the water.
Lastly, the dry can sit more level in the surface rather than getting weighed down at the butt when attached NZ style.
How long should the dropper be on a duo rig and why?
Like any technique we use, it is always important to have confidence in the way you ‘rig up’ a technique but when I am fishing the duo I always ensure that I only use a short dropper of around 2-4 inches.
This allows enough play to tie on the dry fly but keeps the rig more sensitive. Fishing a long dropper will reduce sensitivity resulting in missing takes or in a lot of instances may even stop the dry from submerging at all.
Are you fishing the dry purely as an indicator or do you change the dry with conditions?
I have heard many people refer to the dry fly as purely an indictor but this is far from the case. If the right dry fly is selected for the time of year and relevant conditions there can be a noticeable increase to the number of takes on the dry.
In actual fact during the peak season when fly hatches are at their greatest or most active the dry will tend to out fish the nymph.
In this case some people may think of disconnecting the nymph and just fishing a single dry fly and although this may be as affective sometimes it can have reverse affect as the nymph may have been attracting the fishes attention by creating a plop on the water after we have cast.
Also, the added weight of the nymph descending in the water column acting as an anchor in slowing down the flies' drift rate.
In low water the fish become very nervous and spook easily, I will tend to go to the extremes of fishing a small CDC dry fly like a CDC red tag size 14-16 (capable of holding up a respectable weighted nymph and still fairly visible in the faster paced/broken water but discrete enough for the slower, calmer water) and suspend a small black weighted nymph around a size 18-20 with a 1.5 or 2mm tungsten bead.
This "micro" setup it still very visual (especially when treating the dry fly with CDC oil to extend its buoyancy) but hugely effective due to the light presentation.
When the river levels are normal or slightly high I favour a larger fly capable of holding up heavier weighted nymphs that are easy visible in faster water.
This can be a great way to entice fish up to the surface when there is little to no surface activity. Offering a large meal can make it worthwhile for the fish to come out of its way to eat the fly.
How far do you like to fish the dry from the nymph?
A typical length that I use between the flies would be between 18 inches to 3 feet but I may vary this based on venue, time of year, speed of water.
I also adjust the weight of my fly to suit the right situation. (i.e deep water and I will use a heavier nymph and longer distance between flies whereas with shallower water I'll switch to a lighter nymph and shorter distance between flies.)
After all the depth we fish our flies at it far more important than selecting a specific fly pattern, when dictating our success of catching.
Do you change the distance between dry and nymph at any stage?
It important to adjust your flies accordingly. I will change a number of things when approaching different water. If the river bed is fairly uniform then I won’t change my depth that often but if the river depth varies a lot then I try to adapt to the water in front of me.
This means I’m not snagging my flies on the riverbed in shallow water by fishing too long a distance between the flies or fishing my nymph too high in the water column during my time spent in the deeper runs and pools.
I will comfortably fish a longer distance between flies when prospecting through faster paced water to give my fly more chance of getting down a bit deeper as the sink rate of the nymph will be slower in the fast water.
I have even gone to the extremes of fishing the nymph as little as six inches away from the dry fly when fish are intercepting emerging naturals rushing up to the surface film to hatch out. I have had huge success by being able to use the dry to hold the nymph high in the water column.
Always a tungsten beaded nymph?
No, although tungsten beads help the descent rate of our flies, we are not always looking to fish the nymph deep in the water or wanting it to drop too quickly. The use of brass beaded flies or even unweighted flies should not be ruled out.
It is more about working with what you have in your boxes whilst out on the water or investing in a few more variations of weight from very heavy to lightweight nymphs.
After all spooky fish can easily shy away from beaded flies.
Are you fishing this method with any amount of fly line out of the rod tip?
The great advantage to fishing the duo in comparison to other techniques such as Euro Nymphing or dry fly is how flexible the technique is in regard to the distances we can fish.
The duo can be fished both at close range or on a longer line with ease. whereas modern day nymphing techniques tend to involve the introduction of a longer rod to elevate line off of the water to maximise control and tend to be mainly fished at close range.
The duo can be fished easily on an array of different length rods from short brook rods to rods exceeding 10ft and at varied ranges from under the rod tip all the way to 20-30ft of line upstream when we need to keep distance between angler and fish during low water or when targeting wary, wily fish.
Another benefit to the technique is when experiencing more demanding conditions, such as high winds, the ability of being able to lie everything flat on the water will allow us to present the flies far better than when using methods like euro nymphing where we keep line off of the surface that would create drag.
What is the trio?
The trio is similar to the duo but introduces a second, extra nymph to cover almost all levels in the water.
Using the heaviest nymph on the point means we are fishing one fly close to the river bed (or at its deepest) one fly mid water and one fly on the surface. We can cover all/more angles and cater to fish feeding on all levels.
The main difference we find when introducing a third fly, is we might have to change up the casting style a little to lessen the chance of tangles or the flies landing on top of each other.
Is there any reason why someone shouldn’t cast a longer line with this rig?
The trio isn’t a method I would recommend using a longer cast with, as the two nymphs can easily result in some fairly nasty tangles.
So, it is best cast at shorter range. but an alternative cast that would be best suited to casting slightly longer distances would be the Belgium or Oval Cast - a cast designed to cope with heavier or larger flies.
How efficient do you think this rig is for indicating takes from fish?
Although the dry fly is always dictating the speed of the drift, due to the surface current being quicker than the undercurrent that the nymphs are in it makes them always fish at an angle and drag behind the dry.
This method is still, in my opinion a ‘must have’ technique to keep up your sleeve. As far as how efficient the rig is for detecting takes I don’t think it's quite as sensitive as various European nymphing tactics. Gentle takes in slow water can often go undetected but with a buoyant dry fly and fishing the faster or moderate paced water it will help keep the takes confident and easy to indicate.
What would be your “go to” duo set up?
Probably a parachute style dry fly, as it's easy to spot on the water which is massively important and the horizontal hackle adds buoyancy to hold up heavier nymphs.
The nymph I would choose would most likely be a pheasant tail variety with a subtle red thread hot spot.
I usually fish this with a copper bead but may change the bead colour when conditions differ.
I use a gold bead in sunnny conditions or when the water clarity isn’t so good., copper on spooky fish, on dull days or when the river is clear and black on picky fish or in gin clear water. Silver is a great choice for a lot of conditions too.