Happy Cinco de Mayo! Keeping with today’s date, we have five things for your enjoyment: three articles and two videos to help make you a better fly fisher and fly tier. Enjoy!

A Better Way to Rig Droppers (Orvis Fly Fishing)

There’s more than one way to rig a dropper (even though we commonly rig it off the bend of the hook). This article outlines a way of rigging from the hook eye that can prevent the top fly coming out of a fish if the dropper gets snagged on something. There are helpful illustrations to accompany this.

Gear Tips to Elevate or Start Your Smallmouth Game (Hatch Magazine, Matthew Reilly)

Matthew Reilly breaks down the gear needed to get started fishing for smallmouth bass. It’s not as complicated as you think, and he outlines the essentials that you’re going to need. Catching smallmouth bass – even 8-inchers – on a fly rod is a lot of fun!

The Benefits of Streamer Fishing… On a Euro Nymphing Leader (Tactical Fly Fisher, Devin Olsen)

We’ve featured an article from Domenick Swentosky at troutbitten.com on the mono leader, and Devin writes about a similar setup here in using a long Euro nymphing leader to fish streamers. There are some good tips and tactics that he mentions that I look forward to applying the next time I’m on the stream.

How to Tie the Last Walt’s (Orvis Fly Fishing)

This video from Tim Flagler and Tightline Productions features a variation of the Walt’s Worm (one of our featured nymphs from last week’s Fly Tying Video Week). It’s a buggy-looking variation on an already buggy pattern!

Kelly Galloup’s Laser Legal (Fly Fishing the Ozarks)

Brian Wise continues his second iteration of the Kelly Galloup streamer fly tying videos. This is a great pattern that can be made into different sizes for your waters.