two fly rig?

i was wondering how to tie a two fly rig as in a wetfly and dryfly at the same time, usually for steelhead.  Also i was wondering if there were any regs on this?

hey futhel the best set up for a dry/dropper rig is to have the dry attached to the tippet and then run the dropper from the hook bend of the dry. make sure the dry can support the dropper, a size 16 elk hair caddis is not going to support a size 12 weighted stonefly nymph. as fro the regs they differ in every water shed so check with dfg. but for the most part a two fly rig is legal in most of the known fly fishing hot spots, as long as they are single hook flies. hope this helps, cameron

most places it is legal, I know that on the North Umpqua River in Oregon in the fly-only water, the rules are one single hook, barbless, unweighted fly only. There are a few other places , so it is always good to check the regs. That being said,  it is very effective on Summer Steelhead with water temps over 50 degrees. the dry fly usually attracts them, but the wet fly is the one that does most of the hookups. I like a red beaded Carey Special wet fly size #8 or #10 depending on clarity (use your imagination for the red bead- I ran out)



and a Red butted Purple Krystal Flash Muddler Minnow size #4 or #6 for the dry fly



with about 2 foot of leader between the flies, on a 10 foot florocarbon 3x leader.

Try it on the Trinity, the UPPER Klamath, Feather River and the Yuba. 

bwodun explained the same technique I use most of the time. I have never done it for Steelhead, but I have often for Trout particularly in the later season in the Eastern Sierra where I use a Hopper imitation with a Pheasant Tail or Bird's Nets dropper about 12-16 inches below. It's a great "searching" ploy when you aren't sure what's on the menu and there is no visible activity. Never done it from a kayak though--strictly a stream presentation for me.

When I'm lake and stream fishing, I use the method described by most above - tie on a dry big enough to support whatever fly I will be fishing wet, then to the bend of the hook attach the nymph/wet fly I'll be using.

However, in the surf I use dropper loops as I like the action the flies have better.  A good sketch up of the dropper method can be found below

http://surf-perch.net/Fishing/graphics/dropper.jpg

With the dropper loop set up, the smaller you can keep ALL the loops, and the shorter/stiffer the main leader and dropper leaders are, the fewer tangles you'll end up with.  I avoid using the loop method with flies designed with bar-bell eyes as they seem to LOVE to find their way into and all around all the connections 

Best Regards-
BobV

My way isn't the way you are supposed to do it...I guess; but eveyone has their methods.

I tie my dropper tipped directly to the eye of the dry fly.

I like to use foam drys and soak them with floatant. Foam hoppers are great, and serve as a good indicator too.

Often a big meaty dry can bring up fish for a look and then he might hit your nymph because it is an easier/less exposed target.

Mainly I use a 2 fly rig for nymphing. I tie a heavy larger fly for weight and a smaller nymph aimed at whatever I think is working that day.

I can not comment on the legality of a two fly rig in California, I am from Montana.  But I have used a two fly rig lots.  I tie it up same as bwoden above.  And the elk hair caddis is a great choice for the dry on a two fly rig. 

If you need even more floating power than the elk hair caddis, then try a extended hair body parachute mayfly pattern.  Seriously, dressed with a little silicone, they will float like a cork for quite a while and lift relatively large emergent patterns.

I dont have a photo of my own extended body parachute mayfly, but here is a link to one.

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/intermediate/part22.php

Futhel, are you trying to use the dry as an indicator or are you trying to get some top water action? 

truthfully im not sure because ive always just done one or another.

Most people use yarn/balloon indicators with 2 nymphs and shot if they need to get it down for big rivers.  I use the dry dropper for smaller streams, where trout will take both dry/nymph.  The only time I go with just a dry, is when the fish are pretty much jumping in my net, otherwise all I do is nymph.  This technique works really well, but I don't know to many stealheaders that use a dry dropper.  Majority of the  they'll take the nymph. Hope that helps you.