The dropper loop knot
The dropper loop is a standing loop tied into the line itself, partway along, that stands out at right angles so you can hang a hook or a nymph from it without cutting the line. It is strong and tidy, holds well in braid and fluorocarbon, and is the knot for the paternoster hook branch and the droppers on a gambe.
At the point where you want the branch, form a loop in the line, leaving it a good size for now. The line runs in one side and out the other; the loop hangs below.
Take one side of the loop and pass it through and around that side, making the first wrap. Keep going, five or more wraps, keeping a small opening in the middle of the coils.
Put a finger through that small central opening so it stays open. This gap is where the standing loop will come through, so guard it until the next step is done.
Take the bottom of the original loop and push it up through the central opening you have been holding. Hold it there so it cannot slip back.
Wet the knot. Pull both standing ends of the line slowly in opposite directions. The coils gather on each side and the loop is forced to stand out at right angles. Keep pulling until the coils are tight and the loop stands proud.
Five steps. Each is a panel in the diagram above. Wet it before you pull it tight.
What it ties
Not a hook to the end of the line, but a loop in the middle of it. The dropper loop is tied partway along the line and stands out at right angles, giving you a branch to hang a hook or a small nymph from while the line carries on past it to a weight below. On the slip-float paternoster it makes the hook branch; on the gambe, you tie a row of them down the line, one for each little nymph.
When to use it
Use a dropper loop any time you want a hook on a branch partway along the line rather than at the end. That is the slip-float paternoster, where one dropper loop gives the hook branch and saves you a three-way swivel, and the gambe, where a row of them carries the string of nymphs. Keep five or more wraps, and keep the finished loop short and standing proud at right angles.
Strength and tips
Tied well the dropper loop is a strong, reliable loop in the line. Two things make or break it. First, keep five or more wraps, with the coils gathering evenly on both sides. Second, keep the loop short. A short loop stands out proud and presents the hook cleanly; a long, floppy loop wraps back round the main line and tangles. Wet it before you draw it down.
1Wet it
Wet every knot before you pull it tight. A dry knot drags against itself as it closes and the friction heat weakens the line.
2Seat it slowly
Draw it down slowly and evenly, then trim the tag end close, leaving a stub of a millimetre or two so it cannot slip back through.
3Test it
Pull the finished knot firmly against your hand or the rod before you fish it. Better it fails now than on the take.
Rigs that use it
The dropper loop builds the hook branch on the slip-float paternoster, so the bait sits just off the bottom with the weight anchoring below it. And it makes each of the droppers on the gambe, the string of small nymphs for lavaret. Both rigs hang a hook off a branch in the line, and the dropper loop is how you get that branch.
Dropper loop questions
It puts a loop in the line partway along, standing out at right angles, so you can hang a hook or a small nymph from it without cutting the line. It makes the hook branch on a paternoster and each dropper on a gambe or sabiki, with the line carrying on to a weight below.
Five or more. Fewer than five and the loop can pull out under a fish. Make the wraps neatly, keep a small opening in the middle of the coils, push the bottom of the loop up through that opening, then wet it and pull both ends apart so the coils tighten and the loop stands out.
Usually because the loop is too long. Keep it short and it stands out proud at right angles and presents the hook cleanly. A long, floppy loop folds back round the main line and tangles. Set the loop length while the coils are still loose, then wet it and tighten so it stands clean.