Best Dry Dropper Rigs for Clear Creek, Colorado: Top Flies and Expert Tips for 2025

Clear Creek is the scrappy underdog of Colorado trout streams—close to Denver, quick to fish, and packed with more eager browns than you'd expect from a creek that runs past biker bars and mining ruins. If you're looking to up your game on this gold-panning gem, there's one rig to rule them all: the dry-dropper.

In this guide, we'll cover:

• The best dry-dropper combos for each season
• Specific fly patterns (with sizes) that crush it on Clear Creek
• Tips for rigging and presentation to fool even the spookiest browns
• Best sections to fish these rigs (and when)

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Why Fish a Dry-Dropper on Clear Creek?

Clear Creek is fast, pockety, and shallow in many spots—ideal water for high-floating dries and short, natural presentations. Browns here don’t often see a lot of finesse, and the dry-dropper rig gives you a one-two punch: a flashy attractor on top and a subsurface snack underneath.

It’s the best way to cover water efficiently while keeping your fly out of the snags (and your rig out of therapy).

Best Dry-Dropper Rigs by Season

Spring (April–May):

• Dry: Parachute Adams, size 14
• Dropper: Beadhead Flashback Pheasant Tail, size 18

This combo imitates early hatches like Blue-Winged Olives and small stoneflies. Fish it tight to banks or below overhanging brush—where the wild ones live.

Summer (June–August):

• Dry: Amy’s Ant, size 12
• Dropper: Perdigon Nymph, size 16 (olive or purple)

Summer brings pocket water perfection. The bushy Amy’s Ant floats like a cork, and the Perdigon sinks like a brick—great for those fast seams below tunnels and canyon stretches.

Fall (September–October):

• Dry: Elk Hair Caddis, size 16
• Dropper: Zebra Midge, size 20 (black/silver)

Clear Creek browns are getting spooky. Keep your flies small and your drifts perfect. Fish early morning and late afternoon for the best results.

Winter (November–March):

• Dry: (Optional) Griffith's Gnat, size 22
• Dropper: Bling Midge, size 20
  If you're fishing Clear Creek in winter, you're either a masochist or a true believer. Skip the dry and go with a single dropper on 6X under a New Zealand strike indicator.

Pro Tips for Fishing Dry Droppers on Clear Creek

• Keep your dropper short: 12–18 inches max. Deep rigs get hung up in fast, rocky water.
• Use a bright post fly: Helps you track your rig in glary or shadowed canyon water.
• Target the shade: Especially in summer. Browns hug the edges of shadows like introverts at a wedding.
• Go barbless: Not just for the trout—but because you will snag rocks. Often. Be kind to your tippet.

Best Sections to Fish a Dry Dropper on Clear Creek

1. Tunnel 1 to Mayhem Gulch (Golden Gate Canyon turnoff)

• Classic pocket water with fast seams and deep holes.
• Ideal for Amy’s Ant and Perdigon rigs in summer.

2. Kermit's to Black Hawk

• Fewer crowds, feisty fish.
• Best with smaller dries and beadhead nymphs.

3. Upstream of Georgetown

• Higher elevation and cooler water—perfect in late summer.
• Elk Hair Caddis + Zebra Midge crushes it here.

Gear & Tippet Recommendations

• Rod: 3–4 wt with a fast tip
• Tippet: 5X for the dry, 6X for the dropper
• Leader: 7.5ft tapered (cut down if fishing tight quarters)