(c) Jack Ballard

Fishing a two-fly rig, either a dry fly and a dropper, two nymphs under a strike indicator or even two dry flies together normally ups the odds of finding a fish. The problem is, many anglers spend more time untangling the tandem than fishing. If this describes your experience with a two-fly outfit, take heart. Fishing a tandem trouble-free is generally just a matter of adjusting your cast. Certain “bad habits” in casting tend to tangle two flies. The first of these involves bringing the rod too far back on the backcast. Pause your rod at 1 o’clock, just a little behind perpendicular. Anglers who bring the rod farther back more commonly find their flies tangled when fishing in tandem. A second error is failing to pause at the back of the cast before driving the rod forward. Allowing the loop to straighten on the backcast makes a tangle less likely. Fix these two errors in your casting and you’re well on your way to fishing a tandem without the tangle.