You have the opportunity to tie on one or two fly patterns when nymphing regardless of the nymphing technique you employ, or the nymphing rig type you use. The question is – should you use one or two flies? I’ll walk you through the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy.
First, check the fishing regulations before you tie on two fly patterns. Most states allow you to use two flies at once but there are some states that do not. In my home state in New York, we are allowed to use two fly patterns at once, except for in a few New York streams where we are limited to using only one fly. Most states do not allow you to use more than two flies, but this normally does more harm than good anyways.
The disadvantages of using two flies are obvious: your flies and leader tend to tangle more, you get snagged more often, and when your rig breaks off, you lose two flies instead of one. But if you don’t mind these disadvantages (which I don’t think you should) then I believe you should always use two flies for the advantages described below.
The first advantage of using two flies is that you can pinpoint the trout’s feeding preferences more quickly as long as you tie on two different fly patterns or sizes. When I don’t know what the trout are feeding on, I’ll tie on two different fly patterns that imitate two different aquatic insect species or life stages to see which imitation they prefer. For example, I may tie on a copper john and zebra midge. The copper john imitates many mayfly and stonefly nymphs and the zebra midge imitates midge fly larvae. If trout keep taking the zebra midge pattern over the copper john, then I will put on two zebra midges. Once I know what the trout are feeding on, I’ll also use the same fly pattern in two different sizes to pinpoint the insect size the fish prefer. For example, if I know trout are taking midge larvae then I’ll tie on a zebra midge in a size #18 and #22. Normally one fly pattern will catch the majority of the trout while the other size won’t.
The second advantage of using two flies is that fish will have a better chance at seeing your flies. One of your flies might drift just outside of a trout’s field of vision, but the second fly may drift within the trout’s field out vision, increasing your opportunity to catch fish. This is often the case in muddy water where a trout’s vision may be very limited. I also use two flies to attract a trout’s attention. For example, I’ll tie on a bigger attractor nymph pattern for my first fly and a smaller more realistic nymph pattern for the second fly. The theory is that a trout will see the attractor nymph first and get its attention, while the second fly will get it to actually bite because it’s more realistic.
The third advantage of using two flies is that you can fish two different levels in the water column. If you’re using a standard nymphing rig, your first fly will be closer to your split shot and thereby closer to the bottom. If you’re not using split shot, then the first fly can be a bead head nymph. The second fly would be further from the split shot or unweighted and would thereby drift higher in the water column than the first nymph. If you’re using a bounce nymphing rig, then you can tie your flies at two different heights and know they are drifting in two different water column levels.
More information on trout nymphing can be found in my guide book SIMPLE NYMPHING FOR TROUT IN RIVERS & STREAMS.
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