# Popper Dropper



## flyfishingmike (Nov 26, 2010)

A late afternoon paddle was just the ticket for today. Thirty minutes on the water and you can't remember what it was that was bugging you earlier in the morning.

December is a unique time to fish on the San Marcos river. The sun makes a low arch across the sky, and the daylight is over by 5:30 or so. Leaves litter the surface of the water, making it difficult to fish my favorite fly, the popper. The answer often is to tie a dropper fly, usually a tiny nymph, suspended about 12 inches or so, tied directly to the hook on the popper. The action of the popper striking the surface of the water is usually enough to bring out some curious fish, and the slowly dropping nymph will many times be too much for them to resist. Like Batman and Robin, this is a killer dynamic duo.

There were hatches of mayfies and caddis today, getting the sunfish all excited, and adding to the effectiveness of the popper/dropper combo. Four species of sunfish bit the fly today . . . . one more beautiful the last.

Let's go fishing.


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## dsim3240 (Nov 12, 2008)

Every time I try to use a dropper it causes my popper to sink. What size popper and dropper do you use? Is the dropper weighted? Thanks


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## AlaskaTex (Mar 9, 2006)

Looks like some hit the dropper and some the popper. Did you get and doubles?

AT


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## flyfishingmike (Nov 26, 2010)

Yesterday I was using a #8 popper with a #12 unweighted nymph. Experiment. Different poppers are more buoyant than others and some nymphs weigh more. The rule of thumb here is the popper should stay high for about 10-15 seconds . . . then strip a couple of inches to get it back to the surface.


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## flyfishingmike (Nov 26, 2010)

No doubles yesterday . . . but it does happen. Fun stuff.


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## AlaskaTex (Mar 9, 2006)

*Popper and dropper*

It makes perfect sense. The old " popping cork with a shrimp" has been a staple of salt water conventional tackle technique for ever. I'm going to try some variation of what you are doing this week on the bay.

AT


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## flyfishingmike (Nov 26, 2010)

AlaskaTex said:


> It makes perfect sense. The old " popping cork with a shrimp" has been a staple of salt water conventional tackle technique for ever. I'm going to try some variation of what you are doing this week on the bay.
> 
> AT


Great! Good luck and please tell us how you did.


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