Q&A | #34 - Hopper Dropper Breakdowns, Cleaning Rod Handles + Tippet Material Explained!

In this video, Brian Flechsig at Mad River Outfitters breaks down how to clean the sweat and grime off of your fly fishing rod handle using Murphy's Oil Soap. A guest chimed in that his rod handle was covered with sweat and grease over the years, so Brian showed him the oil soap and it worked like a charm! A couple other viewers asked about tippet materials and hopper dropper rigs, Brian gives his opinion on the hopper dropper with additional variations. Watch all the way through as this is an informative fly fishing video you're not going to want to miss!
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Welcome to Mad River Outfitters, hosted by professional fly fishing guide, Brian Flechsig and his team of fly fishing guides at Mad River Outfitters. On this channel you will find honest fly fishing education, fly fishing tutorials and product reviews. We're passionate about fly fishing and that's what we hope to share here. More information about who we are can be found on our website (www.madriveroutfitters.com) and also on our Instagram (@madriveroutfitters).

[@antoniomontieljr.8025]

Lol. I love the zoom in on the bottle as Brian was cleaning the handle!! :)

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Antonio Montiel Jr. His table is a bit wobbly. Thanks for watching.

[@paulbugeja5425]

Fly fishing for 50 years and still learning from your excellent presentation!

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks so much for being here.

[@Art3m1s_98]

Best fly fishing show on youtube

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks for being here. Much appreciated. Stay tuned.

[@davidswezene1102]

Greetings from Michigan Brian. I had the opportunity to do some fall trout fishing in southeast Michigan and used a #8 popper along with a green pheasant tail nymph dropper for the very first time. On the second cast I hooked a large rainbow trout of roughly 24" and maybe 5+ pounds on the nymph dropper. Well, shock my shorts and pop my buttons. It was a good fight in the cool fall water to be sure. Thank you for the dropper line technique, tips and hints as it proved very fruitful that day In October, 2019. David

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Cool. Thanks for being here.

[@ianchakraborty2607]

Just talked to Brian on the phone yesterday when I called the shop. He was super helpful and supportive and I definitely think everyone who learns from these videos should strongly consider using them for your fly fishing gear! Happy holidays MRO!

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks Ian! Brian is always happy to help as are any of our fine employees. Customer service is what we do......fly fishing is what we love. It's with the support of our friends and subscribers that we are able to continue to make videos. Happy Holidays to you as well.

[@tommurray3974]

Hi Brian, Here in Scotland we also tie droppers to the bend of the tip fly, especially if it is a dry fly and we suspend a nymph under it (we call this New Zealand style). However, it is more common to tie short, say six inch long, droppers at intervals along the leader, usually with a water knot or a uni knot and put the heaviest fly on the point. Typically, if we are fishing say, a 12 foot leader, we'd have a dropper at 4 feet and one at 8 feet so that we are fishing three flies, tripling our chance of a catch. If fished under a floating indicator (we call it a 'bung') in stillwater, this method fishes flies at different depths and can help indicate the depth that the fish are feeding at. I'm sure anglers in the States must also use this method but I can't say that I've read much about it in the American literature. Have a Merry Christmas and a Guid New Year (as we say in Scotland} Tom

[@Madriveroutfitters]

All kinds of ways to do it but this is not a great choice for a beginner just getting into the concept. Thanks for sharing though and same to you as well.

[@farmerbob4554]

Tom Murray Hi Tom. Never tried three flies on droppers plus an indicator in still water. I’d have that rig tangled beyond recognition on the first cast! I do fish two nymphs plus indicator with the bottom nymph tied off on the bend of the upper fly. I do prefer a dropper though but I’m just not confident of keeping everything separate.

[@tommurray3974]

@@farmerbob4554 Actually it's not as difficult as you might think as long as you keep your casting relaxed and smooth. Of course it all goes wrong when the inevitable fish rises a couple of feet further away than you're comfortable with and you put in that little extra effort. It can be embarrassing asking the guy along the bank if he can take the flies out from between your shoulder blades!

[@jimterlinden993]

Another great video Brian. I will definitely be cleaning my grips with the Murphy's oil soap this winter. I saw some information about tying the dropper flies on the eye of the top fly, but I have never tried that. I too have always tied the bottom fly on to the bend of the hook of the top. Just like you said the physics of the cast works better that way. Thanks to you and your staff for all of the benefical information.

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks! We appreciate you being here.

[@DROK0352]

Great drawing. Artist and new fly fisherman here. Tnx for the vids and advice!

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks for watching.

[@martinhughes6759]

That explanation for the third question with the diagrams was excellent, just stumbled a cross your channel today watched 4 or 5 of your videos including * your most important video ever* on the fly leaders. Excellent content, I have learned more today than I have in years of struggling with building my own leaders. Thanks.

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks for being here and please stay tuned.

[@ncsandman8468]

Great information....I’m a big fan of the Murphy’s soap, just never thought of using it on the cork.... thanks👍

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks for being here.

[@rtaylor8322]

I just cleaned the dark stained cork on a 40+ year old Fenwick using Murphy's and I'm stunned how well it cleaned! Didn't think of a Before/After picture until I finished. Amazing difference. Now if a clean handle would result in more fish on the line... Think Positive. Thanks Brian!

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks for sharing and we appreciate you being here. Stay tuned.

[@nickkerr5714]

My grandma may have wrapped your 40 year old fenwick. She worked wrapping for them before the moved production over seas

[@michaelvance2127]

Mr. Clean Magic eraser works wonders too. Thanks for the Murphy idea.

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Mr. Clean has a bit of a jaded past though. Those Murphys folks are squeaky clean. ....and Brian is clearly sponsored by them...thus the shirt. Thanks for watching.

[@andykjohnsonjohnson7622]

Nice video Brian 👍🎣

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Andy K Johnson Johnson Thanks for tuning in.

[@jaredkimzey5181]

The picture over your left shoulder has a very majestic mane. Just beautiful

[@Madriveroutfitters]

jared kimzey We’ll let him know that you like it. Thanks for watching.

[@erikkarlsson5727]

In Sweden we have a sight fishing place called Norrbyströmmen. I usually use #22 or #24 small black flyes because the fish is so used to be catched so the steelhead are extreme extreme picky. Mabey this is a extreme case. But when i fish this small flyes I use my euronymphing 3wt 10.6’ and a WF4. My hanak rod is very sensitive on small tippet, its usually 7X/8X, 15 fot tapered leader. Works great!

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Sounds like a very extreme case but as Brian said here...."You can try". No steelhead in these parts could be landed though on a 3wt and 7X or 8X. Just not reality. Thanks for being here though.

[@farmerbob4554]

All great tips. I especially like tying the heavier fly as the top fly and a smaller, lighter fly as the trailer. Makes perfect sense. One thing I’ve noticed when using a two nymph rig is about 80% of the strikes are on the bottom fly. Not sure why, maybe tying off the hook bend makes the top fly act unnatural. Maybe just serendipity.

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks for watching!

[@christopherkwasny5333]

Love the click sound effect for putting your glasses on

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Christopher Kwasny 👍

[@jesse.stallo8054]

I WAS GOING TO ASK THAT QUESTION!!!! About the dirty cork grip

[@Madriveroutfitters]

We knew that. Glad we could help.

[@rybolov]

Me: I deliberately rub sweat and oil from my skin on my cork grips so that they don't feel new. =)

[@yohkodevilhunter8292]

I've used Magic Erasers to clean cork grips, now I will add Murphy's Oil Soap.

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Nothing like a nice clean grip!! Thanks for watching.

[@dangerous5527]

Holy Bat Soup Batman! The opening 30 seconds of this video has aged perfectly. Besides the death and turmoil, it is hilarious you had a slight cold in this video after traveling fall of ‘19... but seriously tho, you are to blame. P.S. not sure if this is related to the virus but the last couple weeks KZbin constantly recommends Chinese fishing videos. Have you experienced/heard anything about this? Will learning to net fish make me good at Kung Fu too?... But seriously though, fishing in China would be rad. Thanks for all the content. It makes up for your major role in super-spreading the pandemic.

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks for watching.

[@borealisgelidus4427]

Oil Soap = "Murphy 's rule"! 👍😁

[@Madriveroutfitters]

The "duct tape" of soaps. Thanks for watching.

[@ronaldfisher5093]

Nice video again, one question , with the multiple fly rig ( hopper dropper) ,do you change how you make the cast ,open the loop ?

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Sounds like a question? Please send over to [e-mail]. They'll answer you there.

[@michaelpierce8602]

What are your thoughts on multi piece rods (5-8 piece) as far as strength and how well they perform? I’m a backpacker and starting to get into fly fishing and was wondering am I really saving myself by getting a more packable rod if the rod isn’t worth it as opposed to a standard 4 piece rod.

[@Madriveroutfitters]

As stated here, please contact Brian directly at the shop and he'll be happy to help.

[@scottadams1061]

😂 at 2:44 the cameraman zoomed in on the Murphy’s Oil Soap bottle. I too, was waiting for Brian to topple it all over his bench! :)

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks. Very kind of you.

[@mikeandrews5787]

Hey guys, For the second method Brian talked about with two wet nymphs that he uses most frequently, can you explain the concept of where the nymphs should ride in the water column. Is the first heavier nymph supposed to be weighted with split shot to be very close to the bottom so it’s ticking the bottom while the lighter second nymph should be floating above it (which will be the one most of the hits come on)?

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks for checking with us. Best to send questions like this directly to the shop via e-mail or better yet, give them a call. They will be happy to help.

[@wndsrfross]

A soft bristled toothbrush, warm water & toothpaste works like a charm as well!

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Brian is sponsored by Murphy's Oil Soap as you can see so......

[@FlyRiderFishing]

Where can I find the bell curve video?

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Fly Rider This will be a good start: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXqTpmyLh6iVhK8 There are a few others as well. Call Brian at the shop if you have questions.

[@AFisherofMen]

Love your videos… correct me if I’m wrong but is that a bob ross painting above his right shoulder?

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks for watching. Sorry but don’t have that intel here. You could email or call Brian at the shop and he may know?

[@robertwilcken8431]

Hey uy could you do the 2 nymph rig with the indicator above and skip the shot before your trophy nymph, or is that shot critical? Thanks

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Probably depends on the water depth and speed? Best to send technical questions over to the shop though. They are most qualified to answer. [e-mail]. Thanks

[@elihusmails]

Should these rigs all stay within the 9 foot leader length in total? Brian says that's the standard, I want to make sure I'm understanding this right.

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Approximately or so.

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Feel free to contact him directly and he'll be happy to clarify if you need.

[@daleweller5193]

6 wt on a 8 wt rod , what formula would work?

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks for watching. Please send your questions directly to Brian at the shop via e-mail or phone and he'll be happy to help. Thanks.

[@kittyhappykatm5675]

How should I clean a foam handle

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Mild soap and water?

[@tjmckern9374]

I think the dirty cork looks good tho😂

[@Madriveroutfitters]

It's America. You can.

[@nicholascarlson2304]

Is there a ghost that moved that cord on the left handside at 4:15??

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Most likely. Our studio is haunted.

[@Tradman47]

I always thought you wanted your bottom fly to be heavier then your top fly?

[@Madriveroutfitters]

The first fly tied on is usually the heaviest.....but no rules. You can do whatever you want. As Flip says...."It's America".

[@Tradman47]

Mad River Outfitters Your right about that.Thanks for responding

[@Cigarhiker]

91% Isopropyl alcohol on a paper towel does a good job on cork handles too.

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Good tip. Thanks for sharing and we'll give it a try.

[@chiefkeeper92]

Jimmy’s probably from the lesser known Iowa driftless. We don’t y’all.

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Thanks for being here.

[@rhettmorgan6708]

Who the heck cleans their cork?!?! I love the look of my hard fished rods. The rod is a tool not a mantle piece.

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Rhett Morgan This is America. We can if we want to. “Cleanliness is godliness”.

[@leekro1]

@@Madriveroutfitters ~indeed Brian, this is America. I have been interested in restoring old cork handles so filthy they become brittle. Love your tips and keep them coming. Thank you

[@Madriveroutfitters]

Lee Kro Thanks for watching and stay tuned.