Long casts with tandem rigs call for big loops and slow action. High-stick the drfit to keep as much line off the surface as possible. (Shutterstock photo)
May 26, 2025
By Scott Linden
The big rainbow finned lazily in a lava-rock slot in 3 feet of water as clear as a dry martini. The prospect of catching the fish was intoxicating as I watched it move right and left, up and down, like a picky diner at a buffet ignoring everyone in line behind him.
I faded backward into a nearby pine thicket for a better look and a re-rig. Nothing short of a double cheeseburger with fries would get that bruiser to the surface, so I changed tactics, and after a few dozen casts, watched him slide left and daintily inhale one of my nymphs.
You read that right. When things slow, I’ll often plop two nymphs into the depths where big rainbows hang out. Doubling the number of flies expands more than your tippet budget—it increases your odds of catching a bottom-dwelling lunker.
Tandem rigs can consist of two wet flies or a wet and a dry. As with any fly-fishing technique, experimentation is key. (Photo by Scott Linden) Fly Fishing Tandem Rigs You’ve probably been vexed by a similar situation in which a trout has tempted you from a deep, dark, distant lair. When conditions are right (or wrong), that’s where many trout will hide in summer: cooler, sheltered, more oxygenated water. It’s a matter of fact that most fish feed constantly; it’s just very seldom in the surface film.
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I’m no gambler, but when it comes to catching trout on a fly, I’ll double down when I want to even the odds. You might consider it during the summer doldrums. It may not produce the magazine-cover slashing rise we dream of, but a fish in the net will make up for that.
Fish feed on immature aquatic insects most of the day, so swapping a dry for a subsurface fly is step one. Adding another nymph to your rig opens a new world of possibilities: more weight gets both flies deeper. Two different imitations increase your chances, and with a tandem rig you’ll cover more water. Take a moment and watch that trout. It’ll move a few inches right or left, maybe even up a few inches in the water column, but with so much food drifting past, it has little reason to go very far. With two flies, the chances of one entering its feeding lane doubles.
If you’re new to sub-surface fly fishing, you’ll probably read articles or watch videos that make it seem more like alchemy than simply standing in the water waving a stick. But it’s not. Let’s re-rig and explore that pool.
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How-Two If nymph, streamer and wet-fly fishing is new to you, remember you’re now playing a three-dimensional chess game by adding depth to your strategy. The key is to duplicate your natural, drag-free drift underwater like you would with a dry fly.
Experiment the next time things slow down. Don polarized sunglasses, tie on a nymph and drop it upstream a few feet. Watch it sink, drift and undulate in the current. Manipulate your rod tip, watch what your fly does when you give more slack or tighten up your line. Armed with that knowledge, you’re ready to rig up (twice) and do it again.
One way is to tie a length of tippet onto the hook bend of the first fly, then tie the second fly a few feet below it. I’m no physicist, but to me that second tippet is in the way of a trout inhaling fly number one—there’s line at both ends of the fly. To understand what I mean, run a string through both sides of a cheeseburger and try to inhale the whole thing.
Rather than tying a tippet to the hook bend of the first fly, I’ll tie the second fly’s tippet to the eye of the first, leaving the hook bend wide open for a nibble.
Dry-Dropper Sometimes it makes sense to cover both the surface and go deeper. By observing your dry as it floats in the current, you’ll have an idea of what your sunk fly is doing. You’ll know a fish is attempting to take your nymph when your dry hesitates or changes direction. You can adjust your drift, mend line and cast more strategically, all while offering two menu options. Good times to use a dry-dropper rig are when emergers and egg-laying adults are both on the water, or when multiple insect species are active.
The original version of this rig consisted of a subsurface fly knotted to a floating fly. It’s a bit clumsy, so most times a better alternative to a bulky Royal Wulff is a strike indicator. Old-school traditionalists might use a piece of yarn dressed with floatant. Trendsetters use steelheaders’ Corkies, spendy fly-fishing versions of the same and even tiny balloons. The drawback to non-fly indicators is the rare hit from a trout that thinks your indicator is edible.
Where to Fish It Anywhere a trout would seek sanctuary is a good place to put your tandem rig. A number of conditions drive trout away from the surface, a lack of an active hatch being the most prevalent. Noonday sun, shallower water, higher water, avian predators and warmer water all conspire to bollix your quest for trout. But you drove all the way to the river, so why not do something until the evening hatch?
Rig two flies and probe dark pools, drift from a riffly part into the slow-moving chute beneath it. Shady spots, slower water near banks and deeper riffles are likely trout hangouts when there’s nothing hatching. Overhanging banks and water sheltered by tree limbs are worth a cast. I spent most of a lazy summer afternoon roll-casting into a riffle dropping into a 40-yard-wide pool. Catching 12-inchers the entire way across, the grand finale was a 3-pounder holed up under a tuft of grass on the far bank. He’d probably never seen a pair of juicy Beadhead Prince Nymphs drifting through his lair before.
Adjust Your Cast However you rig your two-fly system, it’ll require some changes to your casting technique. Go with nice, slow roll casts, or short casts that pull the fly to the surface on the downstream drift so you can lob them back upstream. Longer casts should have bigger loops and slower action. Give your leader time to straighten out before making your gentle forward cast. On the drift, keep as much line and leader off the water as possible with a “high stick” technique.
Back in Izaak Walton’s day, anglers might knot four or more wet flies to their leader, cast carefully and hope for the best. I don’t know that you should go quite that far, but a couple flies boosts your chances to tempt a trout. So the next time things are slow, why not double down?
