Dropper for Popper/Slider- what favorite combo for Potomac River? Smal

[Whitegrub 0]

What is your favorite dropper - popper/slider combo for Potomac River Smallmouth or any river smallmouth?

I am fishing mainly the Montgomery county MD area of the Potomac, canoe/wet wade (when warm enough).

Also, how much line do you use between dropper and popper?

My combo is a white size 4 slider with a light streamer (like a Silver Outcast size 4)

Thanks in advance,

Whitegrub

 

 

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Don't know about smallmouth but when I use a dropper from a popper or slider, I like using something like a soft hackle or unweighted streamers like a wooly buggar or lightly weighted bucktails or Clouser type flies. I don't like using something that will pull the popper down. Usually I use 18 - 24" dropper in fishing stillwater - haven't tried that combo in moving water, could be different.

[Philly 0]

I use a popper/slider dropper rig part of the time when I fish the local which has smallmouth and largemouth, along with assorted panfish in it but I'm not specifically targeting bass with it. I've caught small bass on the dropper rig but no large ones. Usually I rig a size 4 to 8 popper/slider tie 12-18 inches of fluorcarbon off the bend. Main dropper is usually a green weenie, size 8 to 12. I'll also use large soft hackles, size 8 to 10 and small wooly buggers size 12 to 16. The two wooly bugger patterns I use are the White River Demon, Gold or Silver bead head, flat pearl braid body, white hackle, white marabou tail, tied with red thread, and the Chili Pepper, Copper Bead Head, brown pearl ice chenille with copper flash, brown hackle and a burnt orange marabou tail. You should be able to find tying instructions on line. They are excellent bass buggers tied on size 2 to 6 3 or 4 XL hooks.

[tidewaterfly 0]

Combo rigs are not something I've done since I was a kid. I got away from them primarily because of tangling issues. Like Philly mentioned the best approach for me was a dropper tied to the popper hook bend, usually 15-18" long & I often used a small Deceiver or Seaducer. That's going back to the late 70's. Here in MD only two flies can be used in a rig, even though 3 fly rigs are popular in some places. Md restricts the number of hooks on a line to two, even with flies.

 

I don't even fish with multiple fly rigs now.