Dry-Dropper Starter Pack — 24 Flies

One fly to watch, one fly below it. This 24-fly selection pairs eight large Stimulators with sixteen nymphs and a practical guide to building, drifting and adjusting a dry-dropper rig. Check your actual rig in water, choose a useful dropper length, and keep the setup to one nymph at a time.

• Four Stimulator - Orange #8 and four Stimulator - Yellow #8.
• Four each: Hare's Ear #18, Prince Nymph #18, Copper John #18 and Rainbow Warrior #18.
• Two starting setups: an 18-inch dropper and a 30-inch dropper.
• Instructions for identifying drag, adjusting depth and reading the dry.
• Exact fly identification and individual refill links.
• Boxed or loose refill, with the same twenty-four flies.

A dry-dropper lets you show trout a surface fly and a subsurface fly while watching one visible reference. The useful part is learning what changes when you lengthen the dropper, move across a current seam, or choose another nymph.

This pack keeps those decisions manageable. Orange and Yellow Stimulators are both large #8 attractors. The four nymph choices are all #18, but they are different patterns and are not assumed to weigh the same. Keep only one nymph attached and check that your actual dry remains upright and visible in the intended current.

Start with the short rig in shallow, gentle water where you can control the drift. Try the longer rig when the feeding layer and current call for it. Thirty inches of tippet does not guarantee thirty inches of fishing depth, and a dry that repeatedly sinks needs attention before another cast.

The Yellow Stimulator here is a large attractor, not a small yellow sally imitation. If fish are selectively taking small dries or emergers, match that food with a suitable fly outside this starter selection.

Choose 24 flies + box or 24-fly refill — no box. Leaders, tippet, floatant and other equipment are not included. Shipping is calculated at checkout; eligible lower-48 U.S. orders qualify for free shipping at $65 or more, subject to checkout eligibility.

Questions about this selection

What should I start with? Try the Orange #8/Hare's Ear #18 short rig only after checking that the actual dry stays upright and visible with that wet nymph in your intended water. The starting choice is a teaching sequence, not a claim it catches the most fish.

Can any #18 nymph go underneath? No. Hook size does not establish weight or drag. Check each actual combination in water and use one nymph at a time.

Can I add split shot or another nymph? The supplied rigs use neither. Extra load changes the setup and is outside the starting examples.

What if the dry will not stay up? Check drag and fouling, dry and treat the fly as instructed, and replace a waterlogged dry. If a clean rig still will not work in those conditions, change to a separate indicator or another method.

Can I fish the Stimulator alone? Yes. Remove the dropper and fish it as a large dry attractor. It is not a substitute for matching every small-insect hatch.

Can I refill just one pattern? Yes. Reorder the exact Single variant, or choose the full twenty-four-fly refill.

How to fish these flies

Exact contents

Both formats contain the same 24 flies. Choose the boxed format for a fly box, or the loose refill if you already have one.

Photo guide: The gallery and component pictures are identification examples from our individual-fly listings, not a photograph of the assembled box. Photographs are not shown at a common physical scale. The labels below specify the included sizes and quantities.

How to fish this selection

Keep the Dry Working

Check the actual pairing first

Fly shape, wetting, tippet and current all affect whether a dry stays useful above a nymph. Hook size alone does not establish weight or flotation. Test your exact dry, one wet nymph and chosen dropper length in the water before fishing. The dry should remain upright and visible without bottom or line support. If it tips or repeatedly sinks after you correct drag and restore the dry, use that nymph with a separate indicator or fish the dry alone. No measured carrying limit or passed flotation test is claimed for this selection.

Starting rig 1 — Short dropper

Connect floating line to a 9-foot tapered 3X nylon leader using its factory loops. Tie Stimulator - Orange #8 to the end with a five-turn clinch. Nominal 3X diameter is 0.008 inch / 0.203 mm. Attach 18 finished inches of 5X nylon, nominal 0.006 inch / 0.152 mm, to the dry’s bare hook bend with a five-turn clinch. Tie Hare’s Ear #18 to the other end with another five-turn clinch. Leave extra material for tying; wet, seat and pull-test every knot, then inspect the bend connection after a snag or fish.

Use this as a starting experiment in shallow, gentle current only when your in-water check keeps the dry upright and readable. Use one nymph, no added split shot and no separate indicator in this dry-dropper setup. Eighteen inches between the flies does not mean eighteen inches of vertical depth. Keep the cast short enough to follow the dry and control conflicting currents.

Starting rig 2 — A longer dropper

Use the same floating line and 9-foot 3X leader. Tie on Stimulator - Yellow #8, then use 30 finished inches of 5X nylon from its bare hook bend to Prince Nymph #18, using the same five-turn clinches. The Yellow Stimulator is a large attractor. Again, test that exact combination in the intended current before fishing. Use no extra shot or second nymph. A longer dropper offers separation but can add tangles and drag; it does not guarantee a particular depth.

Use an open casting loop and avoid repeated tight false casts that wrap the nymph around the dry. Follow the fly without towing it. A pause, sideways twitch or unexplained dip can be a take, but snags and conflicting currents can give the same signal. Lift smoothly and inspect the setup when its behavior changes. Orvis on reading a dry-dropper.

Change in a useful order

1. Untangle the rig, clear debris and check the knots.
2. Shorten the cast or change position to correct unintended drag.
3. Dry and treat the dry according to the floatant instructions, or rotate to a dry duplicate.
4. Adjust dropper length for the feeding layer, rechecking support after every change.
5. Compare one different #18 nymph, and test that combination too. Do not assume all four patterns weigh the same.
6. If the dry cannot remain useful, fish it alone or use a separate indicator for the nymph.

For a separate-indicator example in roughly three feet of gentle water, add 24 finished inches of 5X to the 9-foot 3X leader with a double surgeon’s knot. Tie one #18 nymph with a five-turn clinch. Start an adjustable foam indicator 54 inches above the nymph, or 30 inches above the junction, and use no added shot initially. Select an indicator that supports the actual wet fly and adjust to the real depth and current. Double surgeon’s knot.

Refill your selection

For the complete recipe without another box, choose the loose refill format at the top of this page. To replace only a few flies, use the exact individual-fly links in the contents table and choose your own quantities. Each option is a separate purchase; you do not need to add the complete refill and its individual components together.