Two Flies. Two Depths. One Rig.
The dry-dropper is the most productive rig on small mountain streams, and the simplest to set up. A buoyant dry fly floats on top and acts as your strike indicator. A heavier wet fly hangs below it in the current where trout are actually feeding. You’re fishing two flies at two depths on every cast.
The hard part is getting the balance right. If your dry fly is too small, the weight of the dropper pulls it under. If your wet fly is too light, it never gets below the surface. This kit pairs two patterns that are sized and weighted to work together without fiddling.
The Top Fly: Elk Hair Caddis (#12)
The EHC is one of the best dry flies ever tied, and it doubles as a strike indicator. The hollow elk hair wing traps air and keeps the fly riding high, even with a wet fly hanging off the bend. Size 12 gives you enough float to carry a #14 dropper without going under.
On its own, the Elk Hair Caddis matches adult caddisflies, stoneflies, and a handful of other bugs that trout eat off the surface. It works from April through October on just about any trout stream in the country. Dead drift it through riffles, or skate it across a pool to imitate a caddis bouncing off the water.
The Bottom Fly: Wire Body Sakasa Kebari (#14)
This is a Tenkara-style wet fly with a copper wire body that sinks as soon as it hits the water. No split shot, no wait. The reverse hackle opens and closes in the current, giving the fly movement without you doing anything. Trout that ignore the dry will often grab this one on the drop.
Kebari are traditionally fished on fixed-line Tenkara rods, but they work just as well on a Western fly rod. Swing it through a run, let it dead drift under the EHC, or pulse it with short strips. The wire body keeps it in the zone no matter what technique you use.
How to Rig It
Tie the Elk Hair Caddis to your tippet. Then tie 8 to 12 inches of 5X tippet off the hook bend of the Caddis. Tie the Wire Kebari to the end. Cast upstream, let both flies drift back toward you, and watch the Caddis. If it dips, twitches, or moves sideways, set the hook.
Keep the dropper length short on pocket water. 8 inches is enough in shallow riffles. Go up to 12 inches in deeper runs. If the Caddis keeps going under, switch to a larger size or add a dab of floatant to the wing.
Where This Kit Shines
Small freestone streams with pocket water, plunge pools, and riffles. The kind of water where you’re making 15-foot casts into tight spots behind rocks. Brook trout, small rainbows, and wild browns eat this rig all day in the mountains. It also works on larger rivers when fish are holding in the shallow edges.
What’s in the Box
| Pattern | Type | Hook Size | Qty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Hair Caddis | Dry Fly | #12 | 6 |
| Wire Body Sakasa Kebari | Wet Fly | #14 | 6 |
Dry dropper is my go-to setup for 80% of my fishing on the North Platte. The reason is simple — you’re covering the water column top to bottom without switching rigs. But it only works if both flies are doing their jobs. The dries in this kit are buoyant enough to actually support a nymph without constantly drowning, and the droppers are weighted right to hang at the right depth without pulling everything under. That balance is harder to achieve than it sounds and this kit nails it.
You know those days where you can’t tell if fish are rising to something on the surface or feeding sub-surface? This kit is built for exactly that situation. Had one of those days on the Deschutes last fall — fish were moving but I couldn’t get them on a pure dry or a straight nymph rig. Switched to dry dropper using patterns from this kit and immediately started connecting. The parachute patterns visible from far away which helps with strike detection. Really well thought-out selection.